Which Game of Thrones characters have been recast, and was it the right move?
By Corey Smith
The Three-Eyed Raven
When we first meet the Three-Eyed Raven in season 4’s “The Children,” the man with a thousand eyes and one sits enthroned in the roots of a massive weirwood tree. Journeyman actor Struan Roger brought the Three-Eyed Raven to life in this scene, although his first appearance was actually in the second episode of the season, “The Lion and the Rose,” as an uncredited voice in Bran’s head.
Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven took season 5 off, and when the character returned for season 6, he was now played by Swedish actor Max von Sydow. No official reason was given for Von Sydow’s casting, although we’re guessing it has something to do with him being an acting legend with roles in everything from The Seventh Seal to The Exorcist to Conan the Barbarian to Minority Report to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The guy’s been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, and two Emmys, one of which was for his performance as the Three-Eyed Raven. Of course they cast him.
Von Sydow brought depth and wisdom and empathy to the character as trained Bran in the ways of
the Force
greensight. Like any good mentor, von Sydow had a lot of patience with young Bran, no matter how many times his protege snuck off by himself to surf the weirwod net. It seems rather silly to ask, but we must: Who played it better?