# "Song of Ice and Fire" the TV Series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309 "2008-11-12T05:39:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/21 "2008-11-12T22:24:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Martin plans seven books in the series. The producers intend for each season to span one novel. Anyone know how many episodes make up a season? Isn’t it only like 10-15? That doesn’t sound like it will work out very well. And they’ll almost certainly catch with Martin if they start it any time in the next few years. I wonder what they’ll do if that happens. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/22 "2008-11-12T22:29:38Z")
Considering most shows don’t run for seven seasons, I’m afraid that’s something we don’t have to worry about ☹ I do wonder who they’ll cast for Littlefinger. I’m not even sure how I picture him. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/23 "2008-11-12T22:31:10Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t think so - Jaime was named a member of the Kingsguard at the Tournament at Harrenhal, where the whole mess started. He was absurdly young at the time - something like 15 or 16 years old. Ned and Robert were at least 2 or 3 years older, probably more. Was 15-16 really absurdly young back in the days? People grew up a lot faster back then, but I’m not sure how old noblemen usually were before they became knights. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/24 "2008-11-12T22:36:15Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > Was 15-16 really absurdly young back in the days? People grew up a lot faster back then, but I’m not sure how old noblemen usually were before they became knights. It wasn’t that Jaime was knighted that young. It was that he was made a Kingsguard, which is above and beyond. He was the youngest ever chosen for the Kingsguard. And for Petyr, I’d pick someone who played another Piter…Brad Dourif, if he weren’t too old for the role. Littlefinger is supposed to be the same age or slightly younger than Catelyn or Lysa. A Brad Dourif _type_, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/25 "2008-11-12T22:44:51Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > And for Petyr, I’d pick someone who played another Piter…Brad Dourif, if he weren’t too old for the role. Littlefinger is supposed to be the same age or slightly younger than Catelyn or Lysa. A Brad Dourif _type_, perhaps. I don’t know, Littlefinger is polished, charming and superintelligent. He’s more of a Paul Rudd than a Brad Dourif. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/26 "2008-11-12T22:49:40Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > It wasn’t that Jaime was knighted that young. It was that he was made a Kingsguard, which is above and beyond. He was the youngest ever chosen for the Kingsguard. That’s true. Which means he had to be knighted a while before that. I really need to re-read them all. > [@jayjay](#): > > And for Petyr, I’d pick someone who played another Piter…Brad Dourif, if he weren’t too old for the role. Littlefinger is supposed to be the same age or slightly younger than Catelyn or Lysa. A Brad Dourif _type_, perhaps. Someone in that direction, _maybe_ 😉 I’ll have to think about it a bit more. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/27 "2008-11-12T23:09:21Z")
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - Ian McShane as **Roose Bolton**. Played similar to his mob boss character in _Sexy Beast_. Nobody does calculating, dead-eyed, terrifyingly cold-blooded as well as McShane. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/28 "2008-11-12T23:38:20Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > Jon Snow: Alexander Skarsgård. [\](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4101084928/nm0002907) (The guy crouching.) Jon Snow is about 14 when the series starts. They need a kid actor. Now, Alexander Skargard as Jaime Lannister, that I can imagine. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/29 "2008-11-13T00:21:20Z")
Someone on LJ suggested Halle Berry’s partner, [Gabriel Aubry](http://socialitelife.celebuzz.com/images/2007/12/header_120307_03.jpg), for Jaime. I dig it. (“But can he act?” Who cares?! Look at that smirk and those green eyes!) ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/30 "2008-11-13T00:45:20Z")
Terrific! This means GRRM has to finish Dance with Dragons in the next three years to meet the shooting schedule! (Dragons is book 5 and is actually more like book 4.5 since he couldn’t fit everything he wanted into book 4.) $5 says he never makes it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/31 "2008-11-13T00:55:27Z")
I’ve always had the impression that GOT years are a bit longer than earth years. And I’m \*really \*intererested in seeing this. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/32 "2008-11-13T06:44:14Z")
It just came to me now. I propose [Bradley Whitford](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925966/)for Littlefinger. But that might just be since I’ve just finished season 7 of the West Wing. I think he’d be a darn good fit. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/33 "2008-11-13T07:18:35Z")
Very interesting choice. One reason Petyr’s character is so great is that he’s the most \*modern \*character in the series, even more so than Tyrion - in many ways, he’s a 20th-century political operator caught in a world of knights and warlords. The reason he always ends up on top is that he cares as little about such medieval concepts as personal loyalty, honor and the warrior code as today’s politicians. Casting an actor associated with the modern political machine would perfectly encapsulate this sort of character… ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/34 "2008-11-13T07:55:35Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Very interesting choice. One reason Petyr’s character is so great is that he’s the most \*modern \*character in the series, even more so than Tyrion - in many ways, he’s a 20th-century political operator caught in a world of knights and warlords. The reason he always ends up on top is that he cares as little about such medieval concepts as personal loyalty, honor and the warrior code as today’s politicians. Casting an actor associated with the modern political machine would perfectly encapsulate this sort of character.. That’s a lot better put that I could manage, but I agree completely! He´s even played a bastard at times. I like this idea more and more… _now, where did I put that producers number_ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/35 "2008-11-13T10:07:47Z")
While the characters may be young don’t expect them to be cast that way. The older Stark children will by necessity be cast at their young twenties and might be playing late teens. Yes it’s both more faithful and more realistic to have them younger but viewers wouldn’t accept a fifteen year old doing those things. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/36 "2008-11-13T10:14:38Z")
Yeah, I’m pretty sure the public isn’t quite prepared to see a 13-year-old Dany having sex with a 30-something Dhrogo. In fact, I think there are laws against showing that kind of thing. I suppose I’d be willing to accept these kind of changes as neccessary. Different medium and all that. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2008, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/37 "2008-11-13T10:32:56Z")
I will be disappointed at not seeing a preteen Arya stabbing dudes with a rapier, but I won’t be too surprised if they cast someone older. If nothing else, it will be difficult to find kids of the proper age (or at least look it) who can act well enough. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/38 "2008-11-14T00:28:33Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I will be disappointed at not seeing a preteen Arya stabbing dudes with a rapier, but I won’t be too surprised if they cast someone older. If nothing else, it will be difficult to find kids of the proper age (or at least look it) who can act well enough. The shooting schedule might be an issue as well. Supposedly, the first four novels all take place in a period of roughly two years ([last entry here](http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Timeline_of_major_events)). Cast a 15 year old now, and then shoot four seasons on an HBO schedule. The last four seasons of Sopranos spanned 6 years in real time. So your “15 year old” is now actually 21. Think of what happened with Waaaaaalt on Lost… Anyway, I’m gonna watch it. I’m less concerned with casting then I am with the look and feel of the thing. I wanna see blood and sex and violence and grit, I don’t want it softened in any way. When some of the characters died, I had a genuine, non-metaphorical gut reaction. I better get at least that from the series. But as long as we’re casting… [Kari Matchett](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558182/) as Cersei. thwartme ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/39 "2008-11-14T00:59:02Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Yeah, I’m pretty sure the public isn’t quite prepared to see a 13-year-old Dany having sex with a 30-something Dhrogo. In fact, I think there are laws against showing that kind of thing. > > I suppose I’d be willing to accept these kind of changes as neccessary. Different medium and all that. How did they make not one but two movies of Lolita? It’s TV, not real life. I’m sure the actress won’t be 13 but will play 13. Also, it won’t work if Arya is not credibly played by a kid, and yes, she kills people. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309/40 "2009-01-04T16:28:32Z")
I think Tony Shaloub would be great as Davos. Nicole Kidman would do a great as Melisandre. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-of-ice-and-fire-the-tv-series/472309.md?page=3)