Casting calls: the show needs members of a theater troupe, courtesans, and more
By Dan Selcke
Game of Thrones may be in the thick of filming, but casting breakdowns are still popping up. The latest involves a casting call for several members of an acting troupe, presumably members of the same troupe to which this character belongs:
- Leading Actress, in her early 40’s, she’s an elegant actress with a traveling theatre company. Fun, charismatic, rum-drinking actress in the troupe.
That was from an earlier casting call that surfaced before the cameras started rolling. It’s possible, even probably, that many of the roles described in the new batch of calls have already been cast. A couple are filming this week, and at least one already shot some scenes. Let’s look at them.
Grand Theatre Actor/Manager. For this role, the production is looking for someone between 55 and 70. He has a lot of presence on stage, where he specializes in playing drunken aristocrats, but is mean to the other members of the troupe once the curtain falls. He’s shooting in Spain this week, and will film stuff in Northern Ireland the week of November 7. He’ll appear in three episodes.
Leading Theatre Character Actor. This 50-something actor is the headliner for the theater troupe. He has the same filming schedule as the manager described above, and will also appear in three episodes. He’ll use an exaggerated Northern accent when playing his character-within-a-character.
Young Blond Juvenile Lead. This young thespian has the same shooting schedule as his two coworkers. He’s 18-25, will play a heroic young lead in the play-within-a-play, and doesn’t have the acting chops of his fellows. We’ll see him ham it up onstage and engage in offstage politics behind the scenes. You know actors: always with the drama. The leading character actor had best watch his step, or the juvenile lead might accidentally push him down some stairs and claim his role.
Smart Male Theatregoer. This guy has one line and will be filming in Spain this week. He’s rich, in his 40s or 50s, and enjoys a night at the theater.
BEGIN SPOILERS AND SPECULATION
Photo by Marc Marti.
So it seems like these are the other members of the theater troupe Arya Stark will almost certainly hook up with in Season 6. In The Winds of Winter, Arya is working with the troop as part of her training to become a Faceless Man. They’re performing a play called The Bloody Hand, which seems to be loosely (very loosely) based on the events of the War of the Five Kings. In the books, Arya plays a Sansa analogue, which is either hilarious or tragic, depending on how you look on it.
Anyway, based on pics from Girona in which the production team is setting up a staging area complete with Lannister and Baratheon banners (see above), it seems like the show will be adapting this play-within-a-play, and these casting calls are likely describing the players. Could the actor who uses the exaggerated Northern accent be playing a Ned Stark-type character? Is the blonde juvenile playing a Joffrey analogue (keep in mind that, so far as most people on the show know, Joffrey was a hero who died tragically)? The show could have a lot of meta-fun with this plotline.
Maisie Williams is currently in Girona filming scenes for Season 6, and it’s been difficult to suss out when her various scenes will fall during the year. She’s clashing with the waif while still in her blind state, her stunt double is making flying leaps (presumably this happens after Arya gets out of her blind state, although that’s not guaranteed), and up in Carnlough, she filmed a scene while submerged in a harbor. The production hasn’t started to film the play-within-a-playTV show yet, but assuming Arya is involved with it, odds are that she’ll hook up with the theater troupe after her blindness is cured. In other words, I’d expect those scenes to occur in the second half of the season.
What might Arya after do joining the troupe? Well, the description of the “Leading Actress” way up top says tells us that it’s a “traveling theatre company,” so theoretically it could take her out of Braavos, maybe even to Westeros. A play about the War of the Five Kings would probably find success there.
Arya’s tired of murdering people in Braavos. Maybe it’s time she murdered more people across the Narrow Sea.
There are a couple more roles HBO is looking to cast/already found actors for.
Young Stunner. This vaguely titled role is for a young brunette, aged 18-20. Whoever got this part already filmed material during the week of August 5th. She has a few scenes, including a final one that features a big twist. Mysterious.
Sublime courtesan. The actress who lands/has already landed this role will film material around the week of September 15. The character is 20-25, and gets hired by high-born woman to attend a party. The mention of “a high-born woman” makes me think this character is from Westeros, but it would be remiss not to mention that Arya runs into a few classy courtesans while running around Braavos in A Feast for Crows, so perhaps this is one of them?
Long-haired warrior. This guy is in his 30s or 40s, tall, non-white, has long dark hair, is intimidating, and will be speaking a fictional language. You don’t have to read between too many lines to guess that this character is Dothraki. He’ll be filming scenes during the first half of November, and will play an important role in a big Season 6 set piece.