Jim Broadbent Joins Game Of Thrones in ‘Significant Role’
Another British acting icon is on his way to Westeros, in the shape of Jim Broadbent.
According to reports, Jim will play a ‘significant character’ in the upcoming seventh season, but as is usual with Game Of Thrones, they are being extremely tight lipped exactly what that role will be.
Jim is of course well known as Professor Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter movies, but with a career starting in the late 70’s, has appeared in a raft of movies including Bridget Jones, Gangs of New York, The Chronicles of Narnia, Indiana Jones, Iris which won him an Oscar, and Moulin Rouge which gained him a Bafta. He’s also been seen across the our TV screens, appearing in Any Human Heart, Exile, London Spy, War & Peace and Longford, which won him another Bafta.
With the Westeros team not going into any detail about Jim’s role, that will of course lead to a lot of wild speculation by GoT fans across the internet. After a bit of digging through recent casting calls for the show, there was one character which stood out as a possibility. A role listed only as ‘Priest’, described as “A venerable priest with moral authority and gravitas. A white actor in his 60’s, using an RP accent, with characterful face.” The character also starts shooting in September, which would tie in with the casting announcement.
As to who ‘Priest’ actually is, there are a number of possibilities. With Jonathan Pryce’s High Sparrow now gone, that could leave an opening for a new leader of The Faith of the Seven… Although I’m not sure why you’d want to take that job and risk the wrath of Cersei…
There’s also another possibility taken from the source novels. Archmaester Marwyn, aka Marwyn the Mage. His name is mentioned in both A Game of Thrones and A Storm of Swords, but finally makes an appearance in A Feast for Crows. Not your conventional maester, he’s described as someone who ‘believes in many curious things’. Somewhat of a maverick, he’s travelled, mapping distant lands, searching for lost books, and studying with warlocks and shadowbinders. It’s also said he keeps the company of whores, hedge wizards, sellswords, and even beggars. Plus he’s pretty handy with his fists if he needs to be, and is rumoured to have killed a man with his bare hands.
As to how the character is tied to the story, in the book he first meets Samwell Tarly. After hearing Sam’s story, which fascinates him, he decides to set off and meet Daenerys Targaryen. Whether that is what happens in the show, only time will tell…
Game Of Thrones is expected to return for it’s 7th Season in June 2017, with a final 8th season coming in 2018.
