There’s another potential stab victim in Westeros. Beloved actor Jim Broadbent will join the season 7 roster of the long-running HBO franchise, Game of Thrones.
Broadbent has some serious acting chops. With over 140 acting credits to his name and 23 awards, he’s sure to bring some magic to the screen. He imbues many of his characters with a bumbling, zany grandfatherliness that can quickly turn sinister. He’s been a conniving mountebank and pimp as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge, the husband and emotional anchor of Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady, and the Horcrux-shilling Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter films. He’s no stranger to emotional range or fantasy. He will be an excellent addition to the cast.
~WARNING: Speculation Is Coming~
So who will he be playing in the treacherous world of ice and fire?
Reddit scuttlebutt is already pegging him as Howland Reed, father of Jojen and Meera Reed. It’s a compelling theory. Howland was the only other survivor of the showdown at the Tower of Joy, and he is likely the key to helping Jon Snow realize his true identity. On the other hand, Howland is Ned Stark’s contemporary and Jim Broadbent seems a bit out of the age range for such a character.
Another possibility is that he’ll play a Maester, possibly one of the Maesters of the Citadel in Old Town. We finally saw a glimpse of the wondrous college where Maesters learn their Maesterly ways when Sam and Gilly rolled into town. It makes sense to give this new location some air of familiarity by putting a familiar face in the ranks of its occupants.
Equally possible is that he’ll play a completely unknown character. The show is set to veer hard away from the established cast and storyline of the books. If George R.R. Martin can churn out The Winds of Winter before the season debuts, however, we might have a few more casting hypotheses to test.
Whoever he’ll be playing, it’s probably wise not to get too attached. After all, he could end up stabbed/strangled/poisoned/decapitated/ripped apart by ice zombies/incinerated in a church. Valar Morghulis.
