‘Hey, they were in Game of Thrones’—Where else have you seen these 50 GoT cast members?
12) KEISHA CASTLE-HUGHES
New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes plays Obara Sand, one of the dangerous Dornish Sand Snakes.
Castle-Hughes hasn’t been acting for as long as some of her castmates, but has chalked up some some impressive credits: she starred as Mary in The Nativity Story (2006) and has appeared on popular TV shows like Roadies (2016) and The Walking Dead (2014).
Even before her turn as Obara, the half-Maori Castle-Hughes was no stranger to the limelight. She received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her role as Paikea in 2003’s Whale Rider when she was just 14 years old. She was selected from among hundreds of Auckland schoolchildren to play the part and she had to learn how to swim before production began. In an interview with Honolulu Weekly in 2005, she talked about what the movie meant to her: “We lost the culture, like many other indigenous cultures did. My nationality was always a keep-it-to-myself kind of thing, but now I say I’m Maori proudly.”
Do you remember Castle-Hughes’ brief appearance in Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith (2005)? She played Apailana, a young Queen of Naboo.
You’ll see Castle-Hughes in the feature drama Thank You for Your Service in 2017.
