A Game of Thrones is building an impressive cast

As new shows continue to premiere in the upcoming weeks, I can’t help but think about the new show coming out that I’m most excited about. Unfortunately, this show isn’t coming out in the next couple months, or even early next year. I’m talking about A Game of Thrones, the HBO adaptation of the series of epic fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin. They follow two families, the Starks and the Lannisters, through the wars, politics, and adventure in the fictional land of Westeros. The show hasn’t even filmed the pilot yet, but excitement is running rampant amongst big fans of the novels, like myself.

Even if you’ve never heard of the novels, I think I can entice you with some of the casting (particularly if you’re a fan of genre TV)….

There has been a flurry of casting news coming out lately for A Game of Thrones, and most of it has been pretty impressive. One of the biggest roles in the show was cast early, and it also brings the biggest name to the program: Sean Bean as Ned Stark, patriarch of one of the main families in the series. Fans of the genre will remember him as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings films.

The other family is lead by three siblings, and all have been cast with familiar faces. The pair of devious twins, Cersei and Jamie, will be played by Lena Headey (Sarah Connor from the dearly departed Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (New Amsterdam, Virtuality). The third sibling, the smart and impish dwarf, Tyrion will be played by Peter Dinklage (recently seen in Nip/Tuck and 30 Rock).

I think each one of these castings is pretty much a slam dunk. Headey is a great actress and I think she’ll do a fine job as the seriously nasty Queen Cersei, probably the most important role, in my opinion. Martin himself declared Dinklage to be the “dream casting” for the role.

I know that it’s a little crazy to be getting this excited about a show when the pilot hasn’t even filmed yet, but if you’ve read the books you know the awesome potential that this show could have. If you haven’t read the books, maybe the prospect of this show will get you to go check them out. At least you have time to get through the long, dense novels before the series hits the air.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Sep 16, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT