As both a Doctor Who and Game of Thrones fan, I can definitely say there’s a good amount of actor crossover in the side roles. It’s always fun, watching and going, “OMG that’s what’s his face from that one Doctor Who episode with the weird scarecrows!” or “She’s the cool Grandma of the flower clan on Game of Thrones, amiright?” (I watch with my husband, so I’m not just exclaiming to myself — not that I judge that!). But I thought I’d break it down Venn Diagram style to see if these characters are being typecast from one side role to another…you know, because that’s normal.
To put a pressure point on our lingering Red Wedding sadness, I’m going to start with…
David Bradley*
Walder Frey vs. Solomon
So, Walder Frey is a supreme example of a lazy, weak but power hungry dude. He’s not Stark enough to kill people himself, rather orders his people to do the dirty work for him. But one thing is for sure, he wants money and power, and ain’t nothing gonna get in his way — especially not some silly King of the North and his annoying, entitled mother! Solomon, starring as the villain in Series 7’s “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”, generally orders his self-deprecating robots to do his dirty work. But unlike Frey, when it gets down to the gritty, he’s more than happy to threaten to cut Queen Nefertiti’s throat to get away with both robbing the only living dinosaurs in the universe AND reaping genocide on the Silurians. Then he goes on to murder the adorable triceratops, and the viewers collectively sobbed into their Land Before Time pillows. I mean, Walder Frey is basically soft putty compared to hardened Solomon. However…I would say it’s a fairly standard typecast for Bradley, especially given his bitter old man role in Harry Potter.
*I just wanted to point out that his typecast will be changing soon Doctor Who-style because he was cast to play the First Doctor in the TV Movie An Adventure in Space and Time (RIP William Hartnell!)
Diana Rigg
Olenna Tyrell vs. Mrs. Winifred Gillyflower
This Dame is legit awesome (no, really, she’s a real life Dame and a former Bond Girl). Playing the matriarch of the power-hungry yet tactical Tyrell family of High Garden, Rigg pulls out some clever dialogue delivery. Olenna is certainly known for her lack of pretense among the center of the high court’s game. Her primary obligation is to furthering her family line and their place in the royal line, ensuring her granddaughter becomes queen and sacrificing her grandson’s potential easy marriage to Sansa in order to assure a Tyrell named heir. Mrs. Winifred Gillyflower’s lust for power and the word ‘flower’ being associated with her is about where their comparison ends. Mrs. Gillyflower massacres hundreds of innocents in her quest to create a perfect world using the chemical compound of her symbiotic parasite Mr. Sweet to essentially “freeze” people into a posed state of perfection (like an old timey photograph). Not only does she commit horrific crimes with zero remorse, she also disavows her own daughter for something that she did to her! If these are Victorian Values, then I have no desire to go back to that time period!
All in all, I’d say Rigg is NOT typecast in her roles, which is always good news for a Bond Girl.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Jojen Reed vs. Tim Latimer
Well, this cute kid most well-known from his role as Sam in Love, Actually is nearly all grows up in this season’s Game of Thrones. If I didn’t have my expert Doctor Who eye on, I might not have recognized him as Jojen Reed, post-four foot growth spurt! In Doctor Who he plays Tim Latimer, the key character in a two-parter in Series 3 based on one of the late 1990s Doctor Who novels (back when Doctor Who was off the air) in which the Doctor becomes human (“Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood”). His character is really intelligent, but bullied for his size and seeming youngness. He’s got the weird ability to “hear” the Doctor’s fob watch and is the reason (sort of) everyone doesn’t die by the vengeful Family of Blood. Likewise as Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones, he plays someone who is, simply put, a bit weird. Jojen can see things that haven’t happened or are happening somewhere else, as well as put himself into other people’s minds (sort of). Both characters are physically weak, but mentally strong. They are able to influence others in subtle ways and have a base sense of morality that perhaps is not aligned with social expectations. Oh, and both characters more or less save the world because of their special abilities.
I would say it’s a typecast, though a positive one, based on Thomas’ size and his slightly odd look (I think it’s his head size vs. his body size). Unfortunately, I can’t see this shaking any time soon for him — as in, he’s never going to be the strapping lead hero in a standard film or TV show. He’s just too Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower, you know?
Liam Cunningham
Davos Seaworth vs. Captain Zhukov
Liam certainly has a bit of a salty dog vibe to him, playing two sea-based characters in both Game of Thrones and Doctor Who, albeit he’s on a Russian submarine in Doctor Who. He plays Captain Zhukov in the recent episode of Doctor Who “Cold War”, who is in charge of a Russian sub during the 1980s. Zhukov is command, but moral and wise, and he isn’t ready to play to the impulsive temper of his trigger-hungry crew member (played by the guy who is Uncle Edmure in GoT, and such an annoying screw-up idiot in both that I didn’t want to bother including him in this write-up). Davos is a bit more damaged of a man with less overall command than Zhukov due to his post in life. They both have a sense of sincerity and a guiding moral compass. Zhukov however is more intelligent and more concerned about global conflict than Davos. Davos has concern mostly for those directly around him, lacking the immediate foresight of global impact of his actions, even if his actions do contribute to a positive impact for Westeros (and the East, to be fair). Davos rides the redemption story more than Zhukov, as Zhukov never strays. I don’t want to say Cunningham is typecasted, but he does have those sad, enduring eyes that say to you, “I still have hope for the lot of us. I still do.”
Iain Glen
Ser Jorah Mormont vs. Octavian
Part of me is still wondering why Iain Glen hasn’t played James Bond… maybe he’ll replace Daniel Craig? (you heard it here first!*) He’s got the unf factor for sure, but he’s cast in very different roles in Doctor Who and Game of Thrones. As Ser Jorah he journeys from self-interest (spying on the Targaryan kids to earn his pardon to return to Westeros) to unbridled passionate loyalty to Daenyrus Stormborn (I’m not going to list her whole title — though we should). As Octavian, he’s a military leader trying to solve the issue of a weeping angel insurgency on a human settlement in some planet in the far future. Octavian is stoic and driven by his duties, so in that way the remade Ser Jorah and him are similar. Both have some level of military and weaponry training, have a natural distrust for others, and know how to lie for the sake of protecting people. By the end of the Doctor Who two-parter, Octavian has come to respect the Doctor in a way that wasn’t possible for him at the beginning. It’s hard to say if Iain is typecasted, because these roles both are so dynamic that it’s unclear what the casting director is really thinking when they see him. Probably they’re thinking, “We need a really compelling actor for this role.” To me, that says no typecasting.
*I looked it up, and actually the James Bond rumors about him have been going on for decades
So, there you have it. What do you think? Anyone want to do a triple Venn diagram of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Doctor Who? 🙂
Written by Lorena
Lorena’s current obsessions: Chobani Greek yogurt in passion fruit flavor, floppy eared dogs, Klauroline, visiting Thailand, Clara’s theme song, Stanley Cup Playoffs, DWFO (for real amazing!), taking sneaky photos of hot guys on the subway, my sage green skinny jeans, french horns, Tom Hiddleston’s laugh, Tillamook cheese, and Ben Foster (the orchestrator, not the goalie or the actor).
Photo Sources: David Bradley (Walder Frey); David Bradley (Solomon); Diana Rigg (Tyrell); Diana Rigg (Gillyflower); Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Reed); Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Tim); Liam Cunningham (Davos); Liam Cunningham (Zhukov); Iain Glen (Ser Jorah); Iain Glen (Octavian)
