Just when everything had quietened down, and no one assumed we would hear any more significant news until the promotional material began…official confirmation of another Game of Thrones casting was announced!
James Hibberd of EW reports that Russian actor Yuri Kolokolnikov has been cast in the role of Styr, the Magnar of Thenn. Hibberd goes on to give us a brief description of Styr’s character and his context:
Styr leads the Thenn, the most warlike tribe from beyond the Wall. At the end of the third season, the tribes are readying to potentially invade Westeros under the leadership of Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds) while spy-among-the-Wildlings Jon Snow (Kit Harington) was returned injured to Castle Black with news of their movements.
Mr. Kolokolnikov will most likely not be familiar to U.S. or European audiences, but he is a familiar face on Russian screens. It is likely that this is the last casting news we will hear, although we can’t complain as to the sheer amount we were given this year!
Author’s Note: This news puts to bed the almost universally accepted non-rumor that Joseph Gatt (seen on the left) had been cast as Styr. HBOWatch didn’t report on this casting, as it wasn’t 100% confirmed, and it looks like we made the right call. However, Gatt has confirmed via Twitter that he is definitely in the show, and we can guess that he will most likely be portraying a Thenn under the command of Styr. In relation to Mr. Kolokolnikov, he is definitely younger than how I had imagined Styr, but he does have a rugged and entitled air about him. Let’s hope this is a good casting!
It’s official! I can finally say I’m NOT playing Styr. But can I officially say who I AM playing? @GameOfThrones @gameofthronestv @WiCnet
— Joseph Gatt (@MeetJoeGatt) November 8, 2013
Game of Thrones Season 4 will premiere in spring of 2014. We’ll provide an exact air date here when we have it.
2 comments
So who is he then? I must know!
Nice work NOT reporting on the first casting call here, Cian. Thanks!