REFLECTIONS ON FILM CULTURE

Watch These “Game of Thrones” Stars Shine Outside of the Seven Kingdoms

There are two kinds of people in the world: people who watch “Game of Thrones,” and people who don’t.

We at Fandor count ourselves among the former, and we’ve been waiting for season seven’s July 16th premiere as breathlessly as anyone. But no matter how much we wish for it, no matter how hard we clench our fists and stamp our feet on the floor, it won’t make that date come any faster! Fortunately for all of us, the Fandor library is full of movies that feature actors from the show, and you can watch them all right at this very moment.

Originally, we were only going to include films with actors who will appear in season seven, but so many characters have been killed off already that it would make this a pretty short feature. Furthermore, some of the actors who aren’t returning have done some truly stellar work, and it would be a shame to leave them out just because their characters got beheaded, poisoned, or dispatched in some otherwise hideous fashion.

A word of warning — this list contains some spoilers, so if you’ve never watched the show, you should catch up before reading this. That said, go forth and get your “Game of Thrones” fix with Fandor films full of familiar faces to get you through the “winter” before the premiere!

Sean Bean

British actor Sean Bean has been a fixture in popular movies for over 30 years. He spent the 1990s appearing in popular action movies like Patriot Games, GoldenEye, and Ronin, but he truly broke into the mainstream in the role of Boromir in 2001’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Bean was cast as Ned Stark in the first season of Game of Thrones and gave every indication that he was the show’s main character. Just as the season was wrapping up, his character was executed, thereby putting everyone watching on notice: “Don’t get too used to any of the characters”, his execution seemed to say. “Everyone is expendable.”

On Fandor, you can see him as a very young man in the 1986 Derek Jarman drama Caravaggio, which is also notable for being Tilda Swinton’s filmic debut. If that’s not enough for you, he also appears in the 1994 movie Shopping, which also stars Jonathan Pryce (who played the High Sparrow in Game of Thrones seasons five and six).

Maisie Williams

Maisie Williams is just 20 years old, but she’s already made an unmistakable impression on “Game of Thrones” fans. She portrays Arya, the youngest daughter of the Stark family and deadly assassin.

Over the course of the past six seasons, Arya has steadily transformed from an innocent little girl to a remorseless killer, a feat that would be difficult for actors three times her age. But Williams has made the transition utterly believable, and she’s held her own in scenes opposite some of the show’s most intimidating characters.

Williams made her debut on the world stage with “Game of Thrones,” so her résumé isn’t very long just yet. Still, you can see her in 2014’s Gold and marvel at the sight of her in a contemporary setting, playing a teenager in training to become a cross-country runner.

Iwan Rheon

Over the course of four seasons, Welsh actor Iwan Rheon has brilliantly and effectively portrayed the twisted sadist Ramsay Bolton. Sadly, he was eaten alive by his dogs at the end of season six, so we probably won’t be seeing him again.

Luckily, fans of Rheon’s performance can if they want to check out some of his other work on Fandor: Rheon was in 2013’s Wasteland (originally called The Rise in the UK).
A heist movie in the vein of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, it features Rheon in a supporting role. However, his performance was singled out by film critic Allan Hunter as “outstanding”, and if anything it gives viewers a great indication of his acting capabilities beyond Bolton.

Diana Rigg

Diana Rigg plays Olenna Tyrell, matriarch of House Tyrell. The embodiment of the phrase, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit next to me,” her constant exasperation with everyone around her is hysterically funny and a real highlight of the show.

The British actor has played many iconic roles during her career, which goes back as far as the 1950s. In 1968’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, she played the only woman ever to put a wedding ring on James Bond, and prior to that, she played the iconic leather-catsuit-clad secret agent Emma Peel on the classic British spy series The Avengers.

Rigg’s movie career began in 1968 with an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is currently for streaming on Fandor. While you’re watching her in the role of Helena, be sure and look out for such other well-known British actors as Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, and Ian Holm!

Lena Headey

On Game of Thrones, Lena Headey plays Cersei Lannister. In the hands of a less capable actor, she would simply be a character that viewers love to hate, but Headey regularly turns in nuanced performances that show the character’s human side while never diluting her essential malice.

Headey has appeared in a wide range of roles over her 25-year career. This includes a starring role in Fox’s ill-fated series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, voice work on Uncle Grandpa, and even a guest stint on Sesame Street. Yes, really.

Two samples of her film work are available in the Fandor library: She stars in 2000’s Aberdeen, portraying an emotionally disconnected lawyer trying to make sense of her relationship with her estranged parents, and 2008’s The Red Baron, in which she portrays a nurse who becomes romantically entangled with a World War I, fighter pilot.

Peter Dinklage

Peter Dinklage is Tyrion Lannister, the despised brother of Cersei Lannister and the moral center of the show. A dwarf, he is known as “The Imp” and “The Half Man,” and on the show, he regularly relies on his sizeable cunning to make up for his small stature.

Earlier in his career, Dinklage’s tended to be typecast in roles that poked fun at his size more than they leveraged his talents as an actor. But even in these roles, he excelled, as anyone who saw him in 2003’s Elf can attest.

Dinklage got his start playing Tito in the 1995 film Living In Oblivion, which is available on Fandor (and for a limited time to all Sling TV subscribers). This low-budget independent movie skewers the making of a low-budget independent movie, to hilarious effect, in part thanks to Dinklage’s self-aware meta-portrayal of a dwarf who resents constantly being cast in roles. The movie also features stellar performances from Steve Buscemi and Catherine Keener and makes for enjoyable viewing whether you or not you watch Game of Thrones.

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