Game of Thrones A-Z (14 page)

TYWIN LANNISTER

As the head of the Lannister family, you would expect nothing more than someone with a steely gaze and a heavy-set frame, who imposes himself over the headstrong family both physically and mentally. Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion aren’t weak or lacking in bravado, yet it’s clear that they fear their father, but also ultimately respect him, craving his attention like any other child.

Casting the role meant finding someone who could be authoritative and menacing. He is spoken of but not seen for a large part of the first series, and, while he has a bigger presence in the second series, his appearances are still fleeting. It needed an actor who could create such a dynamite presence that would linger long after he was gone.

Speculation on 
winteriscoming.net
 had almost all British actors up for the part. If you’re casting a British actor with a bald head, and one that has authority, then most speculation will concern Sir Patrick Stewart. The 
X-Men
 and 
Star Trek: The NextGeneration
 star already has genre cred, and as a respected RADA actor he would have the requisite gravitas.

Popular British actor Bill Nighy – famed for romantic comedy 
Love Actually
, animated smash 
Rango
 and the 
Pirates
 
of the Caribbean
 – was also mooted, as was Australian actor Alan Dale. At one time best known for playing Jim Robinson on enduring Australian show 
Neighbours
, Dale’s move to America saw him land recurring roles in 
The
 
O.C
., 
24
 and 
Lost
.

Winteriscoming.net
 said about Nighy: ‘Another easily recognisable actor, he doesn’t however have quite the name recognition of Stewart. Still, Nighy has appeared in dozens of popular films over the past decade, including 
Pirates of the
 
Caribbean
, 
Underworld
 and soon-to-be popping up in the film series that seems to have employed all the best British actors over the past few years, 
Harry Potter
. Nighy doesn’t quite have the look I imagined for Tywin, but the actors they cast for Jaime and Cersei weren’t a perfect fit either and that seemed to work out just fine. They’d have to see what he looks like bald first, but I think they could make it work.’

While the website said about Dale: ‘The only non-Brit on this list, Dale was born in New Zealand and started his acting career there and in Australia. He starred on the Australian show 
Neighbours
 for eight years and after leaving there decided to move to the States. Since then he has appeared on quite a few popular US TV shows, including 
The O.C.
,
Ugly Betty
, 
Lost
 and HBO’s own 
Entourage
. He looks most like how I imagined Tywin to look, just slap some mutton chops on him and he would be perfect. Despite not being British he most likely does belong to British Equity (an important element to getting cast it seems) as he starred in the West End production 
Spamalot.
We’ll see if that is enough to get him cast.’

Dale in particular possessed all that was needed for the part, but so did the actor that eventually landed the part. Charles Dance is a veteran TV actor, best known for playing the villain in Hollywood blockbusters 
Golden
 
Child
 and 
Last Action Hero
. He was also mentioned on w
interiscoming.net
’s list, and there was little wonder. He was exactly what was needed for the role of Tywin Lannister.

‘I avoid reading books that are that thick!’ Dance commented to 
westeros.org
. ‘They frighten me, and they weigh a lot in the baggage as well. No, I stick to the script because that’s what we’re dealing with, and the scripts happened to be really, really good. If, while working on this, I thought the scripts were not very good, I’d go back to the source material and try to figure out why that was the case. But the writers on this have been very clever. The quality of the writing is as good as the quality of the production values, which, for a television show, are astonishing. I didn’t realise how widely read the books are, I really didn’t. I hadn’t heard of them before. Someone told me, “Oh, it’s a kind of grown up 
Lord of the Rings
,” which it is because there’s more rumpy-pumpy! And it is quite violent. But I’m kind of continuously surprised because they are very widely spread, and they will be more so now because, like all literary adaptations, the one service an adaptation will do for a book is to make people who’ve not read the book think, “Oh, now I’ll read the book.” Which is good, it’s good for everybody.’

Tywin is the Warden of the West. He has a daughter Cersei and two sons – Jaime, who he adores because he’s everything that he ever wanted as a son, and Tyrion, who he would happily have smothered, blaming him for the death of his beloved wife and his appearance.

Dance added, ‘Much the same as playing any character, really. I pretend – that’s what an actor’s job is. But a man of his age, like a man of my age, you become increasingly aware of your mortality, but in this society life isn’t a very expensive commodity. People get their heads chopped frequently in this. Although it’s mythical, one can draw a parallel with medieval Europe, and life 
was
 cheap. Life is more valuable to us now, in the 21st century, but anybody who has any knowledge of history knows that one of the ways we have evolved is to value life more and live in a way that prolongs our life. Then, I think there was an acceptance that life was fine as long as it goes on, but when it stops, it stops. Because of my age, I have an ability to think myself into the state of a man who’s going to be reminded of his mortality frequently.’

When asked his opinion of the character, Dance said, ‘Yes I do like him, but I don’t think he’s a bad guy at all. No. He’s a man of principle; they might not be your principles or my principles, but he’s quite principled. But no, I don’t always play the “bad” guy. I’ve played quite a few not “bad” guys. But if something as well written as this comes along.’

Lannister’s rise as a controlling, ruthless, driven and punishing leader of House Lannister stems from his father, a gentle but weak man who was mocked by his bannermen.

‘I’m attracted to characters that make you ask questions, or make an audience ask questions – why is he doing that, what is he really about? – that’s great as far as I’m concerned,’ Dance said. ‘There’s an ambiguity about him, you’re never quite sure which way he’s going to go. There are scenes where I have a fair amount of dialogue, but most of the time he is a man of few words and he doesn’t smile very much either. I think he’s a great character, but I wouldn’t describe him as a bad guy, not at all.’

When Tywin imprisoned a disloyal bannerman, the wife of the bannerman captured three Lannisters and threatened to harm them if her husband was not released – something that his father did, much to the shock of Tywin, who had told him to send the man back in three pieces.

The House was becoming a joke, and when Tywin took over the House he made sure he took care of the worst dissenters: destroying the line of House Tarbeck and House Reyne completely. He married his cousin Joanna, who is said to have ruled his home with the same iron fist that he himself did at Casterly Rock and the Seven Kingdoms as Hand of the King to Aerys, who was impressed by the 20-year-old. He did such a good job as the Hand for 20 years that people began spreading the word that the Hand was the real King. This would prompt anger from Aerys, aka the Mad King, who would begin to resent his right-hand man.

After Tywin’s proposal to have his daughter Cersei marry the King’s heir Prince Rhaegar was rejected, and as his 15-year-old son, Jaime, had been taken away from him to the Kingsguard, he resigned as the Hand and headed back to Casterly Rock.

During Robert’s Rebellion, Tywin ignored Aerys’ order to help, refusing to take sides. However, after the rebellion scored a key victory at the Battle of the Trident, he rode to King’s Landing with his forces, and promptly sacked the city – with Tywin’s knights slaying Rhaegar’s wife and her two young children, who Tywin wrapped up in Lannister cloaks and gave to Robert as an oath of loyalty.

He was repaid, with Cersei marrying King Robert, meaning Lannister had a legitimate claim to the throne. He would constantly lend money to the Crown because of King Robert’s financial mismanagement of the realm.

SPOILER:
Tywin is eventually killed by his son Tyrion, after he finds his ex-whore, Shae, in his dad’s bed. Tyrion strangles her with the golden chain that belongs to his father. He then takes a crossbow and shoots his father. Dance didn’t know his character was going to be killed off, and by his ‘son’, until fans told him. He said, ‘I do know [now], because devotees of the books approach me in the street and tell me all about it. So, I know now. It’s quite something.’

U

USURPER

The War of the Usurper is commonly known as Robert’s Rebellion.

Robert Baratheon, also known as the Usurper, is a vulgar, overweight, bitter and angry man when we first meet him in episode one. He speaks warmly of Lord Eddard Stark, but the rest are there for nothing more than for him to insult and look down on. Unless you’re a buxom wench, that is, in which case he will more than likely have his way with you, making sure his wife Cersei Lannister sees or hears about it through her brother Jaime, who he makes sure guards his door when he has female company.

It wasn’t always that way. Cersei herself says near the end of the first series that Robert Baratheon used to be a mighty warrior and a muscled heartthrob who tore through the Seven Kingdoms to depose of the Mad King.

But being King was not what fed this mighty warrior, so he indulged himself in other ways – namely drinking copious amounts of alcohol and gorging at the many feasts that he would demand be named in his honour. He even grew a beard to hide his many chins.

Robert was born to Lady Cassana and Lord Steffon Baratheon, with a brother Stannis arriving a year after him and a second sibling, Renly, coming several years after that.

His grandmother was a Targaryen. When he was young, he saw his parents die in a shipwreck and he was forced to become the Lord of Storm’s End; he made a fine hand at it, thanks to Stannis’ help.

Robert goes to live with Jon Arryn, and during this time he becomes friends with Eddard Stark; he also meets and falls deeply in love with Eddard’s sister Lyanna. After Lyanna is kidnapped by Rhaegar Targaryen, Eddard’s brother Brandon and his father Richard head to King’s Landing seeking justice. Richard is burned alive, while Brandon is hooked up to a device that strangles him the more he struggles as he watches his father die.

Jon Arryn is ordered to give up Robert and Eddard, but he refuses, instead starting the rebellion with both of them.

Robert soon becomes the leader of the revolt – which became known as Robert’s Rebellion.

He faces a rebellion of his own at Storm’s End, with some of his bannermen refusing to join the rebellion and deciding to stay loyal to the throne. He finds out that the lords of the Houses Fell, Cafferen and Grandison are to join up at Summerhall, but Robert and his forces rush to quell the rebellion, winning three battles in one day, with Robert also killing Lord Fell in single combat.

The Battle of the Trident sees Robert face off against Rhaegar, who is convinced of Robert’s guilt in the kidnapping of his beloved Lyanna. Their battle is an epic one, and Robert is wounded, but he is ultimately victorious, killing Rhaegar with his giant hammer. Lyanna dies during the conflict, forcing Robert to head to the Red Keep with vengeance in his heart.

When Tywin presents Robert with the bodies of his arch nemesis’s wife and two children, he is pleased they are dead – much to the disgust of Eddard. Robert simply replies that he sees no babes, only dragon spawn.

The incident threatens to force a wedge between the two friends, and rears its head once again after Ned refuses to sanction the murder of Daenerys’ child. Stark leaves and heads to Storm’s End to help a besieged Stannis. Their shared grief at the death of Lyanna brings them back together.

With the shrewd help of Jon Arryn as his Hand, they pardon the rebellion’s many enemies, and forge alliances with those that wanted to kill them. Some are more reluctant to forge alliances than others – with Dorne outraged that Robert condoned the murders of Rhaegar’s wife and children.

Robert marries Cersei Lannister, but their marriage is doomed from the start, with Robert whispering ‘Lyanna’ on their wedding night.

Robert is an unhappy man, but, six years after being named King, he joins forces with Eddard to crush the Greyjoy rebellion. He dies at the end of season one, not knowing that his children were in fact not his but his wife’s brother’s.

Robert is played with much gusto by Mark Addy. ‘They sent me about three or four scenes to learn for the audition and I thought, “This is actually really good stuff,”’ Addy told 
Access Hollywood
. ‘Then subsequently, I went and bought the book and thought, “This is a really good book.”

So it was great to have the opportunity of being part of something that is such a huge and beloved thing. ‘It’s a little bit of everything really. The fact that George has written such extraordinarily rich characters that are described in the finest detail in the books gives you a really, really strong framework on which to create your own version of that.’

The costumes also played a part. ‘Physically, the kind of costumes that they made for us helped,’ he explained.

‘Once you get into that gear, it sort of gives you a feeling of who that person is, and then you’ve got directors who know the books, know the characters as well as we do, so they wouldn’t let you get away with anything that was too far away from who these people are.’

He continued, ‘You kind of figure out what makes a person, the way George has written such great history. Your entire backstory is right there for you. In the books, you find out what these guys are like as boys growing up into men and assuming positions of power, which they’re probably not best suited for, and consequently being involved in a loveless marriage, which is really more of a political move than borne out of any kind of real feeling for the other person. It all combines to create somebody who is a very flawed character who has turned to the drink [and] the whores in order to kind of keep himself sane.’