Well, it was fun while it lasted. Ranking Clarke and Harington was fairly easy, as I hold these two to pale a bit in comparison to the other thirteen actors in there. Now, it gets hard, as everybody on here is good, great even. Why are these actors in this tier and not the next? They’re just basically less mind-blowing than the other guys. This will be less about pointing out the bad, rather than saying why that gal’s great is better than this guy’s good.
Without further ado, let’s start things off with...
13. Richard Madden (Robb Stark)
I like Madden’s accent. It’s a bit unusual (to me), but it just fits Robb really well, with the kind of gritty roughness he embodies. Madden’s portrayal of Robb is also quite decent. He has the difficult task of playing the part of a ‘green boy’, young and inexperienced, while somehow making us forget that he’s in his late twenties. For the most part, he succeeds.
I find Madden at his best when he has to convey a sense of regality tainted by just a shade of uncertainty, idealism or whatnot. I don’t know exactly how he does it (probably the tone and rhythm of his delivery, rather than his non-verbal acting), but he’s good at reminding us that, yes, this is pretty much still a young man with big shoes to fill. It’s not exactly an easy thing to do, and he does it well.
Things aren’t perfect, though, and while I can’t point any direct flaw in his acting, something doesn’t click with “Young Robb in love.” I don’t buy that relationship, and while most of it is on the writers, there’s still something to be said with the way Madden acted. It might come from that very first scene with Talisa as she’s cutting that Red Shirt’s leg. At first, he doesn’t know her. In the end, you can plainly see that he’s starting to fall for her. In the middle, though, there’s nothing really – no progression, no middle ground, nothing. Perhaps a vague hint would’ve been appropriate - a look, a nervous laugh, a glint in his eyes. Add these kinds of hints and transitions to each of their scenes together, and you’ve got yourself a more believable relationship (the rest of it is on the writers).
While that’s not much, that’s enough to put him behind other actors.
Best scene: When he learns what Theon has done. A beautiful, moving scene, which takes a lot of its strength from Madden's tangible grief, disgust and shame.
--
When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore