If you thought that all of the Game of Thrones news coming out of San Diego Comic-Con was just a wonderful blooper reel and the smiling faces of the actors lucky enough to be playing characters that haven’t been killed off yet, HBO had a little more in store today. Announced during the hit show’s panel were the nine new cast members that will be joining the show for its fifth season and the roles that they will be playing. Some of these actors had already been mentioned for consideration in recent weeks, but this was good for all of us sticklers out there who like a little thing called confirmation.
While some of these names might as well be written in Sanskrit for you, you’ll at least recognize a few names and faces from some pretty great previous work. As for the inexperienced thespians and all-around newcomers, you’ll just have to put your faith in the show’s producers to keep making the best decisions.
Jonathan Pryce
Where You’ve Seen Him Before: Pirates of the Caribbean, Ronin (In which he was a fantastic bad guy), G.I .Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Who He’s Playing: The High Sparrow. A devout and pious man, the High Sparrow came to King’s Landing to serve those forgotten by much of the world—the poor, the downtrodden and the infirm—and quickly amassed a large following. His fellow believers have swarmed over the city, ministering to the lowest and decrying the corruption of the highest.
Alexander Siddig
Where You’ve Seen Him Before: DaVinci’s Demons, 24, Syriana, and of course Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (a thousand apologies for only including recent work)
Who He’s Playing: Doran Martell*. Doran Martell is the ruling lord of Dorne and older brother to the late Prince Oberyn Martell. Unlike his brother, Doran is even-tempered and deliberate. Now, all of Dorne waits to see how their lord will react to his brother’s death.
*I originally wrote “The Model” as his nickname to be cute, but I deleted it because I know how you GOT fans can get.
Keisha Castle-Hughes
Where You’ve Seen Her Before: Whale Rider, The Almighty Johnsons, Star Wars: Episode III
Who She’s Playing: Obara Sand. A fearsome warrior, Obara Sand is the eldest bastard daughter of the late Prince Oberyn Martell. Her mother was a Dornish peasant girl who caught the eye of the late Prince.
Jessica Henwick
Where You’ve Seen Her Before: Silk, North by Northamptonshire
Who She’s Playing: Nymeria Sand. Nym Sand is the second eldest of the late Prince Oberyn’s bastard daughters. Her mother was an Eastern noblewoman who brought Nym up to be cultured, graceful and deadly with a whip.
Rosabell Laurenti Sellers
Where You’ve Seen Her Before: The Family, Mia and Me
Who She’s Playing: Tyene Sand. Tyene Sand is the daughter of the late Prince Oberyn Martell by Ellaria Sand, his final paramour. Tyene is fiercer than she looks, especially with her twin daggers.
Toby Sebastian
Where You’ve Seen Him Before: Probably nowhere
Who He’s Playing: Trystane Martell. Trystane Martell is Prince Doran’s son and heir to Dorne. His father betrothed him to Myrcella Baratheon as part of the alliance offered by Tywin Lannister, then Hand of the King.
Nell Tiger Free
Where You’ve Seen Her Before: Broken
Who She’s Playing: Myrcella Baratheon. Myrcella Baratheon is officially the eldest child of Cersei Lannister and the late King Robert Baratheon, though in truth her father is Cersei’s own brother, Jaime Lannister. For years, she has been a guest and ward of Prince Doran, betrothed to his son, but her position has become tenuous with the death of Oberyn Martell, the Prince’s brother.
DeObia Oparei (He’s the one above not named The Rock)
Where You’ve Seen Him Before: Doom, Death Race 2, Your Highness… you know, some of the best movies ever made
Who He’s Playing: Areo Hotah. Areo Hotah is the long-serving captain of Doran Martell’s palace guard, renowned for his loyalty and his longaxe.
Enzo Cilenti
Where You’ve Seen Him Before: Kick-Ass 2, The Rum Diary, Rome
Who He’s Playing: Yezzan. Yezzan was an extremely wealthy slave trader before Daenerys Targaryen outlawed the slave trade.
(Descriptions via Entertainment Weekly and HBO.)
