The story of Roy Dotrice, the voice of the Song of Ice and Fire audiobooks

Readers of George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire are undoubtedly familiar with Roy Dotrice. He’s the world record-winning voice behind the audiobooks of Martin’s series, enjoyed by millions of listeners and growing.

In 2017, Dotrice passed away at the age of 94. The impact was felt across the community. He gave Martin’s characters a voice years before Game of Thrones, and readers had grown to respect and expect him. When he passed, Martin posted a touching tribute to his blog.

Though many know Dotrice for his work on the Song of Ice and Fire audiobooks, he had a fascinating life and career. To start, he also played the pyromancer Hallyne on Game of Thrones, who shows Tyrion and Bronn the storages of wildfire in season 2.

Yet before all of this, Dotrice paved his own path to success.

He was born in Guernsey in 1923, an island in the English Channel. During the Second World War, the Channel Islands were occupied by German troops, and 80% of the children there were evacuated to England to live with relatives, including Dotrice.

After joining the Royal Air Force, he spent a few years working as a wireless operator and air gunner. During the war, his plane was shot down and he spent the rest the time as a German prisoner. But the prisoners entertained themselves by performing fanciful plays. That taste of acting would point the way towards his future career.

From then on, he focused on theatre. From 1947, he performed in hundreds of leading roles until eventually making his way onto film and television. He played English writer and philosopher John Aubrey in the British play Brief Lives, Charles Dickens in the TV miniseries Dickens of London, and Leopold Mozart in the film Amadeus. Soon enough, he would meet a young writer named George R.R. Martin on the set of the CBS show Beauty and the Beast, which ran from 1987 to 1990. Dotrice played Jacob “Father” Wells for 55 episodes, and Martin has nothing but fond memories of it:

"For all the great work he did on A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, my own memories of Roy Dotrice go back earlier, to the three years we worked together on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST for CBS. Great memories, for me; that was a wonderful show, and a joy to work on. We had an amazing team of writers, and of course a terrific cast…It was an honor and privilege to write for him."

During that time, Martin and Dotrice became good friends. Shortly after, an idea came to Martin that he said would ultimately become the first chapter in A Game of Thrones.

One chapter became a sprawling fantasy series of several volumes. When the time came to choose a narrator for the audiobooks, Martin saw no other choice than Roy Dotrice. “He was my first and only choice as reader on the Ice & Fire audiobooks, and he has done an amazing job there as well,” Martin wrote in a blog post. “[N]ot simply reading the text, but acting it out, giving every character his or her own voice.”

Roy would go on to do the audiobooks for A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords at the age of 80. However, when A Feast for Crows was finally released, he was busy performing elsewhere. The backlash from fans over a new reader was so prominent that the publishers had to rerecord the book with Roy. By the time A Dance with Dragons was ready to be recorded, Roy Dotrice was the only man for the job.

"Calling him a “reader” does not truly reflect his work. Roy performed those books. He gave every character his (or her) own distinctive voice, despite the fact that there were hundreds of them…I loved what Roy did on the audiobooks. He did not just read my words aloud, he brought them to life, in a way few actors could. And the fans agreed."

If you want to know more about Dotrice’s work, check out Nikhita Venugopal’s excellent piece on The Ringer, which points out examples of Dotrice’s mastery at work. His renditions of characters like Ned, Arya and Tyrion showcase his skills as a voice actor, and his talent honed over a long career.

It is truly heartbreaking that Dotrice won’t be here to read The Winds of Winter when the time comes. For many audiobook listeners, he is the voice of the books. His journey from the war camps of World War II to the backlots of Hollywood have given his talent a depth not many in the business can replicate. Fans will be tremendously grateful for the hard work he put into A Song of Ice and Fire for years to come.

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