FACT#56: GAME OF THRONES SEASON 5 CASTING ANNOUNCED
Game of Thrones casts several names for House Martell, and re-casts a "Baratheon."
BY: MATT FOWLER
JULY 25, 2014
Today at San Diego Comic-Con, HBO announced several new cast members for Game of Thrones Season 5 - most notably key members from House Martell of Dorne. It all went down during a special casting video shown to fans attending the big Q&A panel featuring stars Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Gwendoline Christie, Natalie Dormer, John Bradley, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Rory McCann, Pedro Pascal and Rose Leslie as well as showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and author George R.R. Martin.
Alexander Siddig (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 24) will play Doran Martell - 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.
Toby Sebastian (ABOVE PICTURE) has been cast as Trystane Martell - 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.
And in some re-casting news, Nell Tiger Free is now Myrcella Baratheon. Replacing actress Aimee Richardson. 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.
And three Sand Snakes (the nickname for Oberyn's bastard daughters) have been cast. Jessica Henwick will be Nymeria ("Nym") Sand, 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 is Tyene Sand - 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.
And Keisha Castle-Hughes (Oscar-nominated for 2002's Whale Rider) is 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.
DeObia Oparei (Dredd, Doom) will play Areo Hotah - the long-serving captain of Doran Martell's palace guard, renowned for his loyalty and his elongate.
Making things difficult for Daenerys, Enzo Cilenti will play the role of Yezzan - an extremely wealthy slave trader before Daenerys outlawed the slave trade.
And the great Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean films) will join the show as 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.
