Carice Van Houten
Role in “Game of Thrones”: Melisandre, Red Priestess of the Lord of Light, creepy-ass magician and supernatural murderess who has so bewitched Stannis Baratheon with visions of triumph and glory that he can’t see she’s got a different agenda entirely.
Yes, But Where Else Do I Know Her From? The beautiful Van Houten first came to our attention, after seven or so years in Dutch films and shows, when she took the lead in Paul Verhoeven’s homecoming project after his Hollywood years, “Black Book”—an entertaining thrillerish melodrama in which she plays a Jewish woman going undercover and under covers as a spy for the resistance during WWII. Seeing as she already had the ’40s costumes probably, she was then cast as Mrs. von Stauffenberg in “Valkyrie” and then took a succession of films that didn’t quite cut through: “Repo Men,” “Black Butterflies” (co-starring her ‘Thrones’ antagonist Liam Cunningham, no less), “Intruders” and 2012’s “Jackie,” along with a supporting role in “The Fifth Estate.” This rather B-level streak looks set to continue with “Incarnate,” co-starring Aaron Eckhart, due in 2015.
Fans Should Check Out: Van Houten’s so good in ‘Thrones’ that it’s hard to believe she hasn’t had more starring roles (and hard to believe she’s actually only featured in 10 episodes so far as it feels like a bigger part), so “Black Book” is a good place to start, with Verhoeven on typically salacious and broadly entertaining form, yet with still enough intelligence and ambivalence on offer to make it more than a brainless watch. Trailer below.
Rory McCann
Role in “Game of Thrones”: Sandor “The Hound” Clegane merciless, seemingly mindless killing machine/attack dog of the King, turned deserter and unlikely protector of Arya Stark.
Yes, But Where Else Do I Know Him From? McCann’s imposing physicality (he’s 6′ 6″ in his socks) has seen him play warrior more than once, in “Alexander” and then in the live-action “Beowulf and Grendel,” “Clash of the Titans,” and Nic Cage tax dodge “Season of the Witch.” But he’s probably been at his best when playing against that type, or when allowed to subvert it as he does in ‘Thrones’ with the Hound’s constant toying with (but never quite attaining) redemption in the audience’s (and Arya’s) eyes for the sins he has committed. In fact, we noticed him first playing in absorbingly off-kilter U.K. TV show “The Book Group,” in which he played the wheelchair-bound Kenny, and we heard pretty good notices about “Rockface,” another U.K. show focused on the lives of a mountain search-and-rescue team. Most interestingly, however is “Slow West,” which is due for release this year and sees him play opposite Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn and Kodi Smit-McPhee in a 19th century western story.
Fans Should Check Out: If you want something completely different from the actor, check out “The Book Group” and if not, you can enjoy his comedic riff on the massive intimidating lunk he’s played so often, in this clip from “Hot Fuzz,” which is kind The Hound-meets-Hodor. Yarp.
And beyond…
Oona Chaplin
The daughter of Geraldine Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin and great-grandaughter of Eugene O’Neill (how’s that for a family tree…), the Spanish-raised British actress and RADA graduate played the ill-fated Talisa, bride of Robb Stark, on “Game of Thrones.” Before the show, she had small roles in “Quantum of Solace” and “The Devil’s Double,” and played Dominic West‘s wife on “The Hour.” More recently, she impressed in “Inside No. 9” and is starring in WWI nursing drama “The Crimson Field.”
Mackenzie Crook
Before playing eagle-possessing wildling Orell in “Game of Thrones,” Crook was best known for playing gawky Gareth on the original BBC version of “The Office.” After that, he became an occasional Hollywood character actor, most notably as the wooden-eyed sidekick in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy. He’s also won acclaim for his stage work in the U.K., most notably in a legendary production of “The Seagull” co-starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Carey Mulligan and Kristin Scott Thomas, and for smash hit “Jerusalem,” and can currently be seen on Fox‘s sci-fi cop show “Almost Human.”
Sibel Kekilli
The German actress who plays Tyrion’s lady-love Shae, Kekilli actually appeared in a number of pornographic movies before getting her mainstream break in Fatih Akin‘s acclaimed arthouse drama “Head-On,” which won the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2004. Other than ‘Thrones,’ she mostly works in German film and television, most notably with a recurring role in regional police procedural “Tatort.”
Natalia Tena
Tena, who plays wildling Osha, the guardian of young Rickon Stark, is another actress with fantasy credentials, having played fan-favorite Nymphadora Tonks in the later ‘Harry Potter‘ movies. She also had a notable role in Hugh Grant rom-com “About A Boy,” and co-starred in David Mackenzie‘s music festival rom-com “You Instead” with Luke Treadaway.
Noah Taylor
Locke, the man who took Jaime Lannister’s hand, needed a memorable face to make an impression in a brief time, and Australian character actor Noah Taylor was a pretty strong choice. The actor broke through in John Duigan‘s coming-of-age tales “The Year My Voice Broke” and “Flirting,” and has since appeared in “Shine,” “Almost Famous,” “Max” and “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou,” among many others.
Robert Pugh
Welsh actor Pugh, who played vile baby-murderer/incestuous polygamist Craster on the show, is one of those British actors who’s been in pretty much everything. Arguably his best known big-screen appearance was as one of Russell Crowe‘s crew in Peter Weir’s “Master and Commander.” He also appeared more recently in Polanski‘s “The Ghost Writer” and Scott‘s “Robin Hood,” and had significant TV roles in “Doctor Who,” “Longford” and “The White Queen.”
Julian Glover
Though he looks rather different now, as wizened and disgraced Grand Maester Pycaelle, Julian Glover has a pretty storied career: on top of countless stage and screen roles, he played General Veers in “The Empire Strikes Back,” the Bond villain in “For Your Eyes Only,” (alongside ‘Thrones’ co-star Charles Dance) and evil Nazi Walter ‘He Chose… Poorly’ Donavan in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
James Cosmo
The excellently named Scottish actor James Cosmo, who plays Jeor Mormont, the fearsome commander of the Night’s Watch, has a long and storied history of big-screen appearances, mostly with a Scottish theme: he was Angus MacLeod in “Highlander,” Campbell in “Braveheart” and Renton’s father in “Trainspotting.” More recently, he also played Father Christmas in “The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe,” and had a recurring role as a priest in “Sons Of Anarchy.”
