Max von Sydow joins 'Game of Thrones' cast: Who is he playing?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
A famous actor has been cast in the HBO smash hit fantasy series 鈥淕ame of Thrones.鈥澛�
Max von Sydow of 鈥淭he Exorcist鈥� will reportedly on the TV show and will take over the 鈥淭hrones鈥� character known as the Three-Eyed Raven. 鈥淭hrones鈥� character Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) encountered the Three-Eyed Raven in the fourth season finale of the show (Bran did not appear in the most recent season, the show鈥檚 fifth) and viewers briefly saw actor Struan Rodger play the character. However, von Sydow has now reportedly taken over the role. While little is known about the future of the Three-Eyed Raven character, as the show has reached the end of the 鈥淭hrones鈥� books published by George R.R. Martin, it appears from what viewers have seen so far that he will serve as a kind of mentor for Bran.
Von Sydow is now appearing in two very high-profile fantasy and sci-fi franchises. In addition to 鈥淭hrones,鈥� the actor is appearing in the next 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� film, 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens,鈥� which is being released this December. Because of the secrecy surrounding that film, we don鈥檛 know yet officially what role von Sydow is taking on in the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� universe.
Von Sydow has also appeared in the films 鈥淭he Greatest Story Ever Told,鈥� 鈥淣ever Say Never Again,鈥� 鈥淗annah and Her Sisters,鈥� and 鈥淪hutter Island.鈥� He has been nominated for an Oscar twice, for Best Actor for the 1987 movie 鈥淧elle erobreren鈥� and for Best Supporting Actor for the 2011 movie 鈥淓xtremely Loud & Incredibly Close.鈥澛�
Von Sydow鈥檚 new role follows a tradition of casting acclaimed actors in mentor roles in fantasy, sci-fi, and comic book TV or movie series. It stretches back to Alec Guinness appearing in the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� films as Luke Skywalker鈥檚 mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi 鈥� Guinness was an actor previously best known for his Oscar-winning role in 鈥淭he Bridge on the River Kwai鈥� and appearances in movies such as 鈥淟awrence of Arabia鈥� and 鈥淒octor Zhivago鈥� as well as his stage work in Shakespeare productions.聽
It continued with bringing in actor Ian McKellen, a Laurence Olivier and Tony award-winning actor, as wizard Gandalf in the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� films and both Richard Harris, who has been nominated for Academy Awards, and Michael Gambon, a Laurence Olivier Award winner and Tony-nominated actor, as the wizard Dumbledore in the 鈥淗arry Potter鈥� movies. In the 鈥淴-Men鈥� films, the role of Professor Xavier, a mentor to many of the 鈥淴-Men鈥� characters, is played by Patrick Stewart, who also has won Laurence Olivier Awards and been nominated for a Tony Award.
