Yesterday, casting agency ModExpor Internacional fielded candidates who wanted to play extras on Game of Thrones Season 7. As we reported when the casting notice broke, the production was looking for 2400 men and 600 women. They wanted men in good physical condition, and welcomed military experience. That likely means they were casting for soldiers of some kind.
As you might imagine, the casting call was very popular. According to Los Siete Reinos, around 8000 people showed up on the first day. Hoy reports that many hopefuls started lining up early in the morning, with at least one passionate fan claiming his spot at 3:00 pm the day before. That’s dedication for you.
‘Juego de Tronos’ llega a Malpartida de Cáceres
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Los Siete Reinos received first-hand reports of what the casting process was like. After waiting in line, candidates underwent what sounds like a cursory examination. ModExpor weeded out people who had anachronistic hair colors, for example, or distracting tattoos. If they weren’t dismissed, they moved on to the next round, which LSR calls the “real selection process.”
During this stage, candidates are measured (height, waist, etc) and have their photos taken. After filling out some paperwork, the waiting game begins. If ModExpor studies your profile and decides you would make a good extra, it’ll tell you. If not, there’s always Season 8. Of the 8000-or-so people who showed up to this session, only 415 will get the chance to appear on the show.
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The extras chosen could film scenes in one of three areas in Cáceres province: the city of Cáceres itself, Trujillo Castle, and the village of Malpartida. After talking to several candidates, Hoy has concluded that Cáceres will stand in for King’s Landing. The architecture certainly fits what we’re used to.
Candidates also give us a good idea of what’s going to be filmed at Malpartida. There are SPOILERS ahead, so consider yourself warned.
Malpartida is home to a beautiful seaside location called Los Barruecos. We’ve suspected for a while that the production would use this area to stage a battle involving Daenerys fleet, or maybe a landing. Reports from the ground seem to confirm these suspicions. “It is clear that here want to shoot battle sequences in the water,” said one hopeful.
Los Barruecos
Image credit: Mario Modesto Mata. License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Los Siete Reinos notes that men cast to play extras in this area were asked if they would be willing to shave their beards. When combined with the knowledge that HBO was looking for fit men with military experience, we can conclude that they’ll probably be playing Unsullied soldiers. LSR puts it simply: “The scene of the Barruecos in Malpartida will be a battle that will involve Unsullied.” Producers are also looking for a lot of horses for action scenes.
According to ModExpor’s casting notice, the extras from this call should be available to film between November 14 and December 15. That’s about how long it took the show to film the Battle of the Bastards. Could the fight filmed at Los Barruecos be the big tentpole battle for Season 7?