Let’s dreamcast A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight

Tales of Dunk and Egg
Tales of Dunk and Egg /
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CULVER CITY, CA – SEPTEMBER 23: Actor Sean Maguire attends the 6th Annual Celebrity Red CARpet Safety Awareness Event at Sony Studios Commissary on September 23, 2017 in Culver City, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
CULVER CITY, CA – SEPTEMBER 23: Actor Sean Maguire attends the 6th Annual Celebrity Red CARpet Safety Awareness Event at Sony Studios Commissary on September 23, 2017 in Culver City, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) /

Sean Maguire as Ser Steffon Fossoway

Ser Steffon Fossoway is one of the first knights Dunk and Egg meet. He’s also one of the more deceptively despicable ones. Steffon begins as a seeming friend, inviting Dunk to spar with him and then later offering to go and recruit other knights to fight by Ser Duncan’s side during the Trial of Seven.

But when Steffon shows up the morning of the battle, he hasn’t brought anyone else to help Dunk. Worse, he turns his cloak, helping Aerion Targaryen in exchange for a lordship.

Among other roles, Sean Maguire played the Dark King on The Magicians, a character with uncertain loyalties, like Steffon. Maguire is good at acting likable and charming, but also gives the impression that he could flip at a moment’s notice, which is important for this role.

Steffon’s betrayal is classic Song of Ice and Fire stuff, right down to the spiteful words he hurls at Dunk and his own cousin Raymun Fossoway. Speaking of…

SAVANNAH, GA – OCTOBER 28: Actor John Bell speaks onstage during the “Outlander” Q&A during the 21st SCAD Savannah Film Festival on October 28, 2018 in Savannah, Georgia. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for SCAD)
SAVANNAH, GA – OCTOBER 28: Actor John Bell speaks onstage during the “Outlander” Q&A during the 21st SCAD Savannah Film Festival on October 28, 2018 in Savannah, Georgia. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for SCAD) /

John Bell as Raymun Fossoway

One of the coolest things about the Dunk and Egg stories is how George R.R. Martin uses them to fill out some of the unknown bits of Westeros’ past. This is the case with the Fossoways, whose sigil is an apple. In A Song of Ice and Fire, there are two branches of the Fossoway family: the reds and the greens. The Hedge Knight explains the origins of that split, as after Steffon Fossoway betrays Dunk and sides against him in the Trial of Seven, Steffon’s squire / cousin Raymun asks to be knighted to fight by Dunk’s side. Afterward, he hastily repaints his shield, adopting the green apple for his sigil and beginning a new branch of the Fossoway line.

Raymun is a likable sort of fellow, young and awkward but also earnest. Like Steffon, he’s friendly with Dunk during the tournament at Ashford Meadow, and unlike his cousin, he actually does bring several other knights to help in Dunk’s trial. He’s never seen in the series again, but he’s a pretty vital part of The Hedge Knight.

John Bell is best known for his time on Outlander as Young Ian, Jaime Frasier’s nephew. He radiates earnestness, and has the acting chops to sell comedic and heartfelt moments alike. I can easily imagine him as Raymun acting as the quiet voice of reason in the face of Steffon’s arrogance. It seems like exactly the sort of material Bell would knock out of the park.