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The Many Faced Actor: Did You Notice That 'Game Of Thrones' Has Recast Another Of Its Stars?

With a cast large enough to populate the Seven Kingdoms, you can excuse HBO's Game of Thrones for sometimes losing a few of its famous faces in the pack of unknown actors.

By Tom ChapmanPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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'Game of Thrones' [Credit: HBO]

With a cast large enough to populate the Seven Kingdoms, you can excuse HBO's Game of Thrones for sometimes losing a few of its famous faces in the pack of unknown actors. While the story may largely focus on the likes of Jon, Dany, and Cersei, the various characters on the periphery all have a role to play. However, more than most shows on network television, #GameofThrones has a nasty habit of recasting its characters and hoping we won't notice.

It appears that it isn't only the likes of Jaqen H'ghar and Arya Stark that can swap their faces for a different model, the fantasy epic is well known for its revolving door of actors playing the same character. So, did anyone notice that the return of the Tarly family in this week's "Stormborn" also added some new blood to the men from Horn Hill?

Spotted Dickon

James Faulkner reprised his role as the snarling Randyll Tarly, but true Thrones fans clocked that he was accompanied by a complete stranger. Sure, his youngest son Dickon was back, but it wasn't the man we knew from Season 6. Making it more obvious that it probably should've been, we had the awkward exchange between "new" Dickon and Jaime Lannister, just so Nikolaj Coster-Waldau could reiterate that there was a newcomer in our midst.

Image via Instagram

So, who is the latest addition to the show? With previous credits including Black Sails and Merlin, let's give a big Game of Thrones welcome to Tom Hopper, replacing Freddie Stroma from a brief appearance as Dickon back in last season's "Blood of My Blood." However, Hopper isn't the first recast on the show, and we doubt he will be the last.

Face The Music

With HBO overhauling their disastrous (unaired) pilot of the show, it is a little-known fact that big parts like Daenerys Targaryen and Catelyn Stark were recast with the actors we have come to know since 2011. However, even in the early days of the "main" series, does anyone remember that Beric Dondarrion was originally played by David Michael Scott in Season 1? Given that the Lighting Lord looks set to play a big part in Season 7, it is hard to imagine anyone other than Richard Dormer playing the part.

Dondarrion was a relatively minor misstep, but everyone noticed the particularly odd recasting of Daario Naharis between Seasons 3 and 4. We went from the golden-haired Ed Skrein, to the bearded Michiel Huisman and we weren't supposed to bat an eyelid? Come on, Benioff and Weiss, give us some credit.

In fact, Thrones has a long history of blindsiding its audience and having to repeatedly announce someone's name until the new face sinks in. There are of course times that it becomes even more complicated. Dean-Charles Chapman played Martyn Lannister in Season 3, and was then cast as the second actor to play Tommen Baratheon from Season 4 onwards. Also, don't even get me started on Ser Gregor Clegane. Across the past seven seasons, there have been three versions of the Mountain, while he is currently played by strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson in his zombie state.

Image via Instagram

While we don't expect Dickon to have much to do in Season 7, it looks like the Tarly family is probably set for a sticky end on the field of battle. While his character isn't exactly turning heads, it is safe to say that Hopper himself made quite the impression during his blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance. As the square-jawed heir to the Tarly line, it looks like the latest addition to the show has turned Horn Hill to Horny Hill ;)

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About the Creator

Tom Chapman

Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.

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