khal

Now that Game of Thrones has completed the filming of season 6, I thought it would be good to take stock what we know of the new characters.

I’ve avoided including major spoilers in the summaries below, and skipped mentioning who the new characters would be interacting with, for the most part. However, some of the character descriptions are somewhat spoiler-y by their nature, so use your own judgment. You may not want to know who is appearing in flashbacks, for example, so consider that before you proceed any further! Linked posts may also contain spoilers so check out the warnings on each post you visit.

We’ll be looking at the new characters and casting, and tossing out whatever info we have on lingering casting mysteries.

In the Iron Islands:

Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk): Theon’s uncle and an “infamous pirate who has terrorized seas all around the world,” according to the casting notice. He’s “cunning, ruthless, with a touch of madness.” We broke the news of his casting on September 1st, and shortly afterward, HBO officially confirmed it. Euron is likely to be the biggest new character in season 6.

Aeron Greyjoy: Sources tell us that Euron’s Drowned Priest brother (another uncle of Theon’s) will be appearing in season 6, but his casting is unknown at this time.

Rugged Pirate: This character stands up in a crowd, makes himself heard, and has a lot of forceful dialogue in a scene with leading cast members. He was scheduled to shoot the same week in Northern Ireland as the filming with Euron and Aeron.

In the North:

Smalljon Umber (Dean S. Jagger): Smalljon is a lord in the North, a massive bear of a man with “a hatred that runs deep.” He’s the son of Greatjon Umber, whom we met in season 1. We confirmed Jagger’s casting with a reader’s help after a photo turned up on Instagram.

Lord Karstark: The new Lord Karstark is intimidating, ruthless and calculating, according to his casting notice, and we’ll see him in 3 episodes next season. The role’s casting is unknown at present.

Fletcher: He’s a fat Northern nobleman in his 60’s who makes a stirring speech. Fletcher may not be the character’s real name.

Boyce: He’s a callow young Northern nobleman in his 20’s who has been thrust into a position of power before he is ready. He has a couple speeches and was scheduled to film on the same day as Fletcher.

Bolton officers: played by Andrew Bryan and Tristan Heanue

Winterfell flashback–

Young Hodor. This part is most likely played by Sam Coleman though it’s not officially confirmed at this time.

Young Ned (Sebastian Croft): He’ll be appearing in scenes where he spars with a wooden sword.

A reliable source confirms for us that we’ll be seeing at least one Stark family flashback, with Ned’s younger siblings Benjen and Lyanna present, as well as his father Rickard Stark, and Old Nan (possibly the Housemaid and the alpha male patriarch mentioned in this casting call).

Beyond the Wall:

Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow): The character was introduced in season 4, but next season, the legendary von Sydow is taking over the role of Bran’s mysterious man in the tree.

Child of the Forest: Game of Thrones posted a casting notice for a young woman approx. 18-22 years old of any ethnicity. The actress needs to be about 5 ft tall or shorter, with “striking facial features,” eyes that are as far apart if possible, and someone with a child-like physique who has the ability to handle action scenes as well. With a description so specific, they can only be looking for another Child of the Forest.

In the Reach:

Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner): Samwell’s disapproving father, who is described as “one of the greatest soldiers in Westeros- a humorless martinet, severe and intimidating.” We shared the casting of Randyll, Melessa and Talla on Sept. 16th, which HBO confirmed the next day.

Melessa Tarly (Samantha Spiro): Sam’s sweet mother, she has a soft spot for him.

Dickon Tarly (Freddie Stroma): Sam’s younger brother is athletic and an excellent swordsman, though not particularly bright. He’s Randyll’s favorite child. EW announced Stroma’s casting in September.

Talla Tarly (Rebecca Benson) Sam’s sister, she’s a “kind, friendly and unpretentious woman,” according to her description.

The Tower of Joy trio-

Robert Aramayo- Deadline announced the casting of Aramayo in an undisclosed role.

Ser Alfred Hunrith (Eddie Eyre): Eyre’s Spotlight CV for a time stated that he was playing a character named this, but the entry has since been scrubbed to simply confirm his appearance on the show, no role disclosed.

Rowland Selwyn (Luke Roberts): In August, a WotW reader claimed that Roberts was playing the Legendary Fighter (believed to be Arthur Dayne), and also said, “Luke Roberts has been in training for weeks and was joined last week by Eddie Eyre and Rob Aramayo.” At the time of the comment, Aramayo’s casting was unannounced. Roberts’ agency CV states his character name is Rowland Selwyn now.

There’s a question of whether or not these character names are legitimate or ruses used to thrown fans off the scent, so take them with a grain of salt. Common opinion points toward the three characters actually being young Ned Stark, Ser Arthur Dayne and Howland Reed. The actors were spotted around the filming area of the Tower of Joy, however, so we are confident they’re the ToJ characters. There could be other actors involved that we’re not aware of at this point, and fans continue to debate which actor is playing which role.

In Braavos:

Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men will be making a cameo appearance in Braavos, so look out for that.

We also have The Theater Troupe, appearing in 3 episodes-

Grand Theatre Actor/Manager (Richard E. Grant) – He’s the “larger-than-life leader of a troupe of actors.” He sounds like Izembaro from the novels. He is a “rather nasty to his company when off-stage.” Grant’s role was confirmed through set photos.

Leading Actress (Essie Davis) – She plays Cersei in the troupe’s play. She’s a “fun, charismatic, rum-drinking” type, according to the casting notice. Fans identified Davis in costume on set.

Leading Theatre Character Actor/Play Ned (Kevin Eldon): The character’s a flamboyant caricaturist in the troupe. Again, it was WotW readers who identified the actor through set photos.

Young Blond Juvenile Lead/Play Joffrey (Actor name unknown): He’s sweet, but his stage acting probably isn’t very good.

The troupe members:

Play Margaery – Eva Butterly

Play Tyrion – Leigh Gill

Play Sansa– Eline Powell

Brendan O’Rourke

Ross Anderson

Glenn Barry

There is also a Smart Male Theatregoer, described as being in his 40’s or 50’s. They’re looking for a “smart, posh-looking man to play a well-to-do audience member in a theatre.”

Around Meereen/Yunkai:

Melanie Liburd (Red Priestess): The beautiful priestess was mentioned in the first casting call, and spotted filming in Spain.

Eddie Jackson: His specific role is unknown but the actor filmed with Enzo Cilenti (Yezzan) and George Georgiou (Razdal) in Spain.

Sabina Arthur (Meereen Mother): Possibly the starving mother with a child mentioned in a casting call.

The Dothraki:

Khal Moro (Joe Naufahu): Deadline announced Naufahu’s casting in October. The actor’s CV confirms he’s playing Jhaqo, a character from the novels. His role was confirmed to be part of a multi-episode arc. That was most likely his khalasar we saw at the end of season 5.

Khal Rhalko (Andrei Claude): His Spotlight CV confirmed his casting as another khal.

Elie Haddad: The actor’s casting came to light when he posted a photo of a script page from a Dothraki scene in November.

Chuku Modu: Modu posted photos from a Spanish Dothraki location and was photographed with the other Dothraki actors socializing after-hours. His specific role is unknown.

Staz Nair: He was confirmed to be cast, and the actor has also been photographed with other Dothraki-playing actors a great deal over the past couple months.

Diogo Sales: Sales is credited on his CV as a bloodrider for season 6.

Souad Faress (High Priestess): The actress’s CV was updated to say she was “currently filming in Spain” while Game of Thrones was heavily involved in Dothraki filming in Spain in October. Looks-wise, she fits the bill for a Dothraki woman and could be a dosh khaleen at the temple. She could still turn out to be a High Priestess of a different sort, however.

There are parts out there still where we don’t know which actors are playing them. We saw casting notices for a Young Widow and a Quirky Young Warrior. The actors we’ve seen so far don’t fit the bill for the physically slight and short warrior, so unless they went a different route with that character, we haven’t yet found the actor playing this Dothraki role.

There was also a casting notice out for several Warrior Widows.

There have been multiple casting notices put out this year for Dothraki fighters including Qhogo and Akrat in the second major list. They were described as successful young warriors who are tall and confident, with swagger.

The Outlaw Story:

Ian McShane: EW announced in August that that Deadwood star was joining GoT in a role with a “relatively small amount of screen-time” but that was still of “key importance.” Our own sources have confirmed that he is not Aeron Greyjoy. We further learned that McShane plays a character who has a scene with the outlaw band mentioned in the 2nd casting call. He may be the priest (possibly an equivalent to Septon Meribald or Elder Brother) mentioned in the first casting notice list.

Lachlan: He’s the leader of a group of renegades who have turned on the land that they swore to protect. They now extorting the poor and vulnerable. The outlaw band appears in 2 episodes. The Riverlands is a likely setting for this storyline.

Flynn (Ricky Champ): We uncovered Champ’s casting as a member of Lachlan’s band of renegades.

Japeth: A lieutenant of the outlaw band, he’s a “rough-and-ready type.”

Icelandic news reported the casting of Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson in season 6. Given his interactions, it seems likely that he may be part of the outlaw story but it’s unconfirmed.

Bower: He is “a powerless servant, numb to the horror he serves.” He’s filming around one of the days that the outlaw members are so he may be connected to them. He appears in one episode.

Assorted castings:

Old Lady (Margaret Jackman): Her Spotlight CV lists Mark Mylod as her director.

Westerosi Sea Captain (Kevin Horsham): The actor’s CastingCallPro listing. From a Mark Mylod episode, filmed in Girona, Spain.

Kesh (Michael Heath): He’s credited for a Daniel Sackheim episode. The character name isn’t one from the books.

Fergus Leathem: His role is unknown. He filmed in August.

Michael Nevin: His agency posted that the child actor would be filming for 2 weeks on Game of Thrones.

Robert Render: His casting surfaced online a few months ago. A source of ours says the actor may have a small role in the Iron Islands.

Pale Young Man (Adam Turns): This casting popped up on a CV. It does say season 5, but given how recently he tweeted about joining the cast, it’s safe to assume he meant season 6. He’s credited for a Mylod episode.

Michael Patrick: Alex Cusack Management posted in November that their client was currently filming GoT, but didn’t mention the character.

Robert Fawsitt, Dermot Ward and Aron Hegarty: On November 2nd, the Castannettenow agency posted that their three clients were are all shooting in Game of Thrones Season 6 that week and the next. Their roles are unconfirmed.

Gary Wales: The actor is listed as a “Healtor Troop” for episodes 5 and 6 of the new season on IMDb. The name Healtor is odd, but we heard a few months ago from a source that GoT had been using a name similar to this as a fake/code name for Freys during production. This isn’t 100% solid though.

Sally Mortemore: Her CV lists her as Well-Heeled Lady 2 in a Jack Bender episode.

Matt Faris: Universal Artists agency tweeted that Faris was cast back in September but his role is unknown.

Roles With Unknown Casting, Unknown Storyline

From the second major casting list:

Hunter : He’s a rough army officer on the hunt appearing in an action scene with main cast, in one episode.

: He’s a rough army officer on the hunt appearing in an action scene with main cast, in one episode. Submissive Maester: The show’s casting a maester in his twenties- a timid young maester. He’s decent but has trouble standing up to others. He appears in one episode. Speculation and book knowledge points to this one being involved in either Sam or Euron’s storyline but there’s nothing confirmed.

The show’s casting a maester in his twenties- a timid young maester. He’s decent but has trouble standing up to others. He appears in one episode. Speculation and book knowledge points to this one being involved in either Sam or Euron’s storyline but there’s nothing confirmed. Green Recruit: A young man with one line and one day of filming in August. A Night’s Watch recruit or for something else?

A young man with one line and one day of filming in August. A Night’s Watch recruit or for something else? Sympathizer 1, 2 & 3: These are rough military types, with one day of filming.

Hapless Son: He’s the hapless sly son of a cruel father, in his late 30’s. He appears in three episodes. GoT was looking for very specific features- a long nose, skeletal features and a bit sly – to play a son who is unable to live up to the demands of his savage father. He has scenes with lots of the leading cast and a great storyline. We believe this may be a Frey son, but it’s unconfirmed and no casting was ever announced or discovered for this part.

Distinguished Man: In his 60’s to mid-70’s. GoT was looking for someone white-haired with aristocratic features, and capable of great intensity, with natural authority. The part required a couple days’ filming but was described as “impactful” nonetheless. He shot the week commencing October 29th in Northern Ireland.

Haggard-looking Lord: in his fifties. He’s the lord of a noble house, intelligent, wry, incisive and articulate. He’s “a hard man and a realist. They mention that he has a good and long scene in which it’s mostly the haggard-looking lord talking the entire time. The character was scheduled to shoot the first two weeks of December in Northern Ireland. They did specify appearance as “white” for the character, so it’s safe to guess he is from Westeros, north of Dorne.

Captain of the Tower: Aged 35 – 45. The captain’s in charge of the security of a castle, an able soldier, commanding and capable. He has a lot of dialogue in a scene where he’s with his superiors and has to make a difficult decision. It’s a one-scene part with leading cast. The role shot for one week, commencing December 2nd in Northern Ireland.

Young Stunner: Aged 18 – 20. She’s a stunner of a brunette. The actress has a couple of scenes, and a great final scene where there is a major twist. This role shot the week of August 5th in Belfast. It’s theorized that she might be Lyanna Stark, and the scene was perhaps an interior scene for the Tower of Joy.

Sublime courtesan: Aged 20 – 25. This beautiful courtesan appears at a party where a high-born woman has employed her services. The role was scheduled to shoot around the week of September 15th.

There will be more casting confirmations to come, as CVs are updated and more info trickles out. And in another month or so, we can look forward to a full trailer for season 6!

Thanks to Greenjones and AlCasino Royale for their help, and a big thanks to Anguissette for maintaining the Season 6 Casting Compendium, which made this post a lot easier!