Board 8 > Solfadore ranks 43 Game of Thrones actors

(+) Yeah! (+)

Even when he's not in character he is still better than you.

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Yeah Charles Dance is great. I knew he was a great choice back in season 1, watching his first significant scene where he's skinning the deer and he's telling Jaime what he expects of him. After he finished his speech, one of the guys I was watching with goes "damn, now I want to be a Lannister" which pretty much sums up the power of Charles Dance's performance.

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so excited for charles dance being the villain in the new season of strike back

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wait what the hell, how are sam and renly main characters over joffrey?

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TimJab posted...

wait what the hell, how are sam and renly main characters over joffrey?

They're more conflicted than Joffrey and their inner conflicts drive parts of the narrative.

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Lacking energy and motivation right now (****ing heat), but I'll try to do two write-ups tonight, to compensate for the delay.

Fun fact: I switched my rankings around since the last time I gave out hints (which was around Renly or so), so #4 won't necessarily be who you're expecting. Or it might. Who knows (I do!).

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4. Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth)

Remember when I said two actors hadn’t been guessed at all by the first four entrants? Cunningham was one of them, but I have since changed my mind and bumped former supporting actor #4 up a bit.

So, Davos – a very likeable character from Book 2 whose transition to screen I was curious to see. When they first revealed the casting, I had my hopes up, as the man just... really looks like Davos (and since I don’t recall any physical description of the character in the books, it’s all attitude, demeanour and poise). Let’s just say Cunningham did not drop the ball on this one.

Davos is a fun character to play with, being a breath of fresh air away from all the vileness, angst and all-around ruthlessness going on all around Westeros. The Onion Knight, as he’s called, is a pretty straightforward character, but a compelling one nonetheless. A former smuggler who saved Stannis from a long siege by smuggling, well... onions past the enemy lines, Davos got a knighthood for his courage, and his fingers shortened for his smuggling ways. Since then, Davos decided that he would stick by Stannis wherever he decided to go, and his unbending loyalty is one of his two defining traits, the other being just how goddamn normal he is in a cast of weirdos, evil ****** and troubled teens.

How does Cunningham fare in the midst of all this? Very well, I’d say. Cunningham plays the Onion Knight very squarely – he’s always a bit stiff, a bit frank (not in the ‘blunt’ kind of way... just that he’s really honest and doesn’t hide anything), but you can always sense that this is a good, honest man underneath. More than anything, though, Davos looks and feels like a real human being, not a character in a TV show adapted from fantasy novels. Maybe playing opposite Kerr Logan/Matthos Seaworth (who absolutely does not feel like a human being at all) helps his case a bit, but the result still remains that Cunningham has this kind of effortless way of conveying his character’s hopes, fears and emotions – with great presence to boot.

(cont'd in next post)

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And still Flynn manages to do a bit more, opening a small window into the man’s heart – a pretty ugly thing, to say the least. Think back, if you will, to the scene with Slynt and Tyrion, as Bronn is promoted captain of the guard. “If I asked you to murder an infant girl, still at her mother’s breast,” asks Tyrion, “would you do it without question?” “No, not without question. I’d ask how much.” That line is superbly delivered, as you really can’t see at first whether he’s joking or deadly serious. He’s got a hint of a smile on his face, his eyebrows are raised in their usual mocking stance, but his eyes... One glance at his eyes, and you realize there’s very little humanity in there. He’d probably do it, you realize, and Tyrion does as well (realize).

Yet, despite all that, he still manages to make him believable, realistic and... likeable. Another strong piece of acting would be the scene in which Pycelle is confronted and captured. Not the best scene altogether from a writing standpoint, and Glover did falter a bit at times, but Flynn managed to remain solid despite the rather minor role he had. Notice that when Tyrion asks for Pycelle’s manhood to be chopped off, Bronn laughs. This is an utterly believable laugh – it feels like at this point, it’s not only Flynn playing a laughing sellsword, but Flynn himself laughing as well at a good friend’s joke.

There’s much more of that all throughout the season. Not enough, perhaps, to crack the two top positions, but Flynn entirely deserves his #3 spot in my eyes. Although again, I could see Cunningham, Sumpter or even Glen over him. These are all fairly close to one another.

Best scene: Another tough one... It’s a rather short scene, and not one with a lot of material for Flynn, but his interactions with Tyrion in Blackwater were gold. “Oh, are we friends now?”, “Enhances it really” and “Been spending time with fancy folk” were superbly acted. Aside from that, I’d say one of Flynn’s main strengths is consistency.

DA POINTS: Nobody got anything! Didn't really expect anyone to guess him, though, as this one's a very personal preference of mine (and a fairly debatable one at that). Didn't even realize how much I liked his take on the character until I actually started ranking actors around.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

---ARTHUR DAYNE TIER OF KICKING JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY’S ***** WITH A HAND TIED BEHIND HIS BACK (Supporting Actors)---
Well, this is it, folks. The end of the road. I won’t say much about this tier, aside from the fact that #3 and #2 are actually fairly close to the guys below them (it’s more of an artificial distinction, really). Only #1 really gets away from the pack, IMO. Just so you have an idea, I’d rank #3 between Renly and Jaime, #2 around Jaime level and #1 around Sansa level. Now you know.

Let us proceed with what is probably the biggest surprise of these rankings so far...



3. Jerome Flynn (Bronn)

Awwwww yeah Bronn. If you recall, I said at the beginning that somewhere near the top, my bias would get the best of me. This would be right about now. I absolutely love Bronn. “Hey, why should your liking Bronn give Flynn such a high ranking?” Fair question. Thing is: I don’t like book-Bronn that much. Well, I do like him and find him to be a thoroughly fascinating character, but that’s about it. TV-Bronn, however, has been consistently great and fun to watch. I’ll admit that a lot of it’s on the writing and the expanded role he gets; I do get the feeling, however, that people kind of assume that Bronn’s awesomeness is to be entirely credited to the writers, and consequently, many people forget that Flynn also did a hell of a good job.

Before I dig deeper into why I like him as much as I do, you’ll do well to recall that Supporting Actor #3 means he’s somewhere around Renly level (a bit better perhaps, but yeah). It’s a bit weird given that I’ve just ranked Charles Dance, but the leads and the supporting actors are definitely not on an even footing in my eyes. I’d rank Coster-Waldau over this guy in a heartbeat. That’s out of the way: let’s now move to why I like his performance so much.

Like Davos before him, Bronn is a thoroughly believable character, which is why he’s such a nice addition to the series. Sure, you’ve got Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei, Arya, who are all superb characters – but they’re great in a ‘fictional’ kind of way (which is not a bad thing at all, mind you). I adore them, but I never forget that they’re actually fictional. Bronn, on the other hand, is pretty much a slimy, selfish bastard that’s been thrown into this fantasy/medieval universe. Flynn sells it superbly.

He’s just this incredibly sleazy sellsword who is ridiculously untrustworthy but that you can’t help but like. As effortlessly as Flynn makes it to be, these are not exactly easy shoes to fill. You have to juggle between ruthlessness, arrogance and some sort of slimy selfishness/self-interest, yet still retain a healthy dose of charm and likeability. How does he do it? I’d say a lot of it rides on the facial expressions he makes and on the general poise/delivery he adopts. You could contrast his performance to Cunningham, if you would. Davos is a square man, very honest, very frank – most honourable. With Flynn, you always have the feeling that he’s slipping away instead. He’s always standing in some sort of oblique posture, his jaw never resting squarely where it should, moving this way or that way as he reacts to events around him. Where Davos has sincerity and honesty engraved in his eyes, Flynn is never really serious – with his forehead wrinkling and his eyebrows moving about sceptically, he seems to be perpetually joking, or at least not being entirely forward.

(cont'd in next post)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

I’m sure you’re all wondering why he’s so high, though, given that I’ve said pretty much the same thing of a great bunch of actors. Well, Cunningham’s got something that the others don’t – that even the top three don’t have. He’s a excellent supporting actor. We almost always remember the breakout characters – those who sing and shine and snark their way to fan favourite (I’m thinking Barney from HIMYM, Sheldon from BBT, Ben from Lost, etc.). On the whole, that’s entirely deserved, and this very list is no exception.

Being a supporting actor – and a really good one – is no easy task, though, and instead of shining and stealing the spotlight, Cunningham is just exceedingly good at supporting. He won’t try to draw attention to himself (when it’s not warranted, at least), but will try to give more insight into other characters, to help them along. He’ll try to improve the general feel of the scene, and with his calm, comfortable presence, he really has a knack for it. Cunningham’s not a star – he’s more of a pillar – a strong, sturdy one, who you can rely on to support a scene through and through. That deserves recognition.

I’d also like to say (and that’s where a bit of my bias comes in) that I also like the actor himself, notwithstanding the character and his performance. He seems like a great guy, and most of all, he’s thoroughly impressed by the series and was just ecstatic to have the chance to play this character – go watch some interviews if you want. The man’s a cool guy – and very enthusiastic, too. I like it.

Best scene: One of the later ones, definitely. He started out just a bit shaky around the edges, then quickly got his act together around EP4 or so and was consistently great thereafter. I’d either go with the conversation with Stannis in the tent, or SHADOW BABY (and preceding scenes). Last conversation with Stannis on the boat was cool, too, but most of the praise’d be on Dillane for that one.

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Fun fact: Jerome Flynn's brother Daniel Flynn voices Solaire of Astora in Dark Souls.

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When I'm asked to rank my favorite characters in the books (in Book 4 so far!), it goes as follows:

5. Oberyn Martell
4. Robb Stark
3. Jaime Lannister
2. Arya Stark
1. Bronn

Because he's just that badass. That being said, I definitely didn't expect him to get that high.

His scene with the Hound in Blackwater is also one of my favorite added scenes in the series.

Yeah Bronn was already my #5 character before the show came out. I'm surprised that so many people say he's much better in the show. I guess it's just the added scenes and people sort of ignored him in the book series.

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Bumpo.

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Book character rankings (halfway through book 5):

5. Olenna Redwyne Tyrell
4. Renly Baratheon
3. Tyrion Lannister
2. Jaime Lannister
1. Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish

I like charisma, skilled players of the game, and quick witted characters.

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There's Tywin Lannister and then there is everyone else when it comes to ASOIAF characters. Though if I had to make a top five I'd put in Arya, Jamie, Tyrion and Stannis. Dunno what order though.

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Update coming in a few hours.

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Just wanted to say since I've not been commenting much, I've been really enjoying this topic, it's really interesting to read, even when I disagree! The quality of the cast on the show is pretty astonishing to me, so to see it venerated it so much is really cool.

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My personal top five in the books (having read through them all):

5. (tie) Daenerys Targaryen/Catelyn Stark
4. Barristan Selmy
3. Cersei Lannister (really)
2. Davos Seaworth
1. Tyrion Lannister

Personal favorites in the books
1. Tyrion Lannister
2. Stannis Baratheon
3. Jaime Lannister
4. Varys
5. Catelyn Stark

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I'm in the middle of Feast.

5. Varys
4. Stannis
3. Jamie
2. Tyrion
1. Arya

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Book top 5:

1. Arya
2. Tyrion

Really no one else is close to those two. But if I have to list five I'll say something like

3. Jon
4. Daenerys
5. Sam

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I still need to read Dance but my top 5 is...

5) Sansa Stark (seriously)
4) Cersei Lannister
3) Tyrion Lannister
2) Arya Stark
1) Jamie Lannister

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Hmm, my book Top 5 probably goes something like:

1. Littlefinger
2. Jaime
3. Stannis
4. Jon
5. Tyrion

There are tons of honorable mentions, of course, and I feel like outside of the Top 2 I could interchange things a fair bit depending on when you asked me. Sansa, Arya, Tywin, Theon, etc.

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WTF at all the Littlefinger love. Seriously, I've always hated him. Whenever he's onscreen (page?) I want him to go somewhere else. One of my most-despised characters, along with (pre-Dance w/ Dragons) Theon.

Littlefinger is awesome and if you haven't read the books seriously don't highlight this.

Littlefinger throwing Lysa out of the Moon Door is like a top one scene in the series.

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Personally Littlefinger is my single least favorite character in the entire series. And I didn't like the scene FFD likes, it was pretty typical of why I hate him so much.

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Actually to be fair that is one of the ONLY scenes of Littlefinger that I liked. That was pretty ballin'.

my favorites are Theon, Stannis, and uhhhhhh. . .

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1-3. Arya, Tyrion, Ned in some order
4. Jaime
5. Tywin

...probably

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LES POINTS:

EO, LOTM, ML and Rex get a whopping three points for ranking him as #2. Alec gets a point for including him in his list. The totals are thus:

EO: 7 points (Tywin [+1], Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
LOTM: 6 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
Rex: 6 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
ML: 5 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys [+2])
Alec: 3 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys)
Kaxon: 2 points (Tywin [+2])

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Reminder: we're doing supporting actors first.

2. Conleth Hill (Varys)

AKA former supporting actor #4, who got bumped up because I realized he was better than Cunningham and having Bronn at #2 was a bit preposterous.

Hill’s a bit of an oddball as far as supporting actors go, because contrary to most of them – or most of the top ones, at least – he does have some noticeable flaws. Thing is: he’s just so good aside from these flaws (this flaw, really, but I’ll come back to it in a bit) that I can’t really see him any lower than like #5 on any ranking.

So, Varys. A hard character to get right by any measure. Much harder to nail than Littlefinger, for instance. Littlefinger, for all his treachery and untrustworthiness, is pretty open. Sure, he’ll betray you, but he’ll do it in your face with a smile on his face – basically, you always know that he’s planning something and that it might not be good for you. You just don’t know what it is. As an actor, that means you can be a bit more direct – and have more fun with the role, show more emotions, have a bit more leeway.

Varys, on the other hand, is much, much more subtle. At first glance, he’s a soft, flowery, harmless man, always courteous and kind. Obviously, to anyone with two eyes and half a mind to notice, he’s actually very dangerous and someone you definitely do NOT want to have as an opponent. The tough thing with him is that you’ve got to reconcile these two aspects of his personality – seem harmless, and yet make sure the viewers and even the more acute characters know that you’re nothing but. When you’re making threats, people have to believe that you can actually come out swinging. At the same time, you have to show restraint and control. A difficult mix.

Hill does that brilliantly, though, and it’s a sad thing that he’s so often overlooked. First, he does manage to strike the careful balance between the two sides of Varys – obviously, if he didn’t, he’d be nowhere near the top tier. What strikes me is that he can often tweak some aspects of his performance to fit the mood of a scene better while leaving others untouched – essentially playing two characters at once. I’m thinking of that first scene with Tyrion and Shae. At first, he’s all silky and smooth as he delivers his threats: pretty classic – well-done, but nothing mindblowing. Then comes the little bit at the door, when Tyrion comes out swinging and threatens to throw him into the sea. “You might be surprised at the result,” the eunuch replies, and as he does so, he puts one lone finger against the door, “the storms come and go, the big fish eat the little fish and I keep on paddling.”

The amazing thing with that scene is that Hill does two conflicting things at once. First, listen to his voice. It’s all soft, silky, smooth – sure, the tone and delivery may vary ever so slightly (especially on the “I keep on paddling”), but overall, it’s pretty much the same courteous Varys, all about politeness and self-restraint. Then there’s the eyes. Holy crap the eyes. Hill brings incredible energy into the scene just with his eyes: one look at them and you realize – if you didn’t already – that this one’ll be a much bigger fish to chew than anticipated. It’s also the first time non-book readers might have realized just how dangerous that man can be. He does all of that with only a hint of an inflection in his voice. I can only imagine how hard that must be, to be boiling inside while letting nothing show in your tone.

(cont'd in next post)

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So correct me if I'm wrong, but it's down to me/LOTM and Rex for the win now, right? If Tyrion > Arya he wins with 14 (with Kaxon and ML on 13 and 12 respectively); if Arya > Tyrion, LOTM and I both get 14 and noone else can overtake (closest would be Rex with 12).

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That would already be reason enough to put him very high in my rankings. Hill does something else, though, that I’ve already mentioned with some characters and that I’ll mention again here: he takes some liberties and isn’t afraid to explore a bit even if the lines don’t necessarily call for it. This is why you might have noticed that Varys completely outshined Littlefinger in terms of quips and snark – it’s not even close, and yet Littlefinger is depicted in the book as being much more likely to tease and give out a “funny” line – not that I find LF to be particularly funny, but that’s another matter completely. How does he do that? Well, Hill seems to have just straight-out decided to be a lot more teasing than his book counterpart, and it works really well. Thing is: he’s still in-character – he’s never insulting anyone to their face, but will rather provide stealth insults and backhanded compliments.

Think of that scene with Tyrion and Bronn as they prepare the defence of the city. Varys comes in: “I wished to congratulate you for the Gold Cloak’s performance. Did you know there has been a marked drop in thievery?” – it’s a funny line, but as he says it, he’s completely serious, giving the impression that he’s amazed and in disbelief, even giving a little nod to Tyrion as if to say “As hard as it is to believe, that is the truth, my lord Hand.” Obviously, he’s absolutely not serious – and not amazed at all – but the choice of delivery he made is way better (and funnier) than if he had donned a mischievous smile. It’s the little things like this that really define a character, and Hill has a good nose for nailing them.

That said – and I briefly touched upon this point earlier – he does have his flaws. Namely, Hill tends to overact a bit at times. It might come from his theatre experience, but nevertheless, he sometimes lets out a lot more than he should. An example of this would be a bit later in the scene with Tyrion and Bronn – as the latter explains that the marked drop in thievery was achieved by rounding up all the known thieves and presumably killing them. Varys is obviously distraught by this, panicked even, which works fine until you realize that he most probably already knows it (him being the Master of Whispers and all). He really shouldn’t be showing so much emotion there.

Another glaring misplay goes back to Season 1 – I don’t intend to take Season 1 into account in my rankings (and I didn’t, else he might be a bit lower), but this one really was glaring – can be traced back to a conversation he had with Littlefinger. The latter told him he saw him conspiring with a ‘foreign dignitary’ (aka Illyrio), and as he says this, Varys is absolutely panicked and stressed out of his mind. Whether or not he is panicked, though, he really shouldn’t be showing it as much. Maybe a subtle hint could’ve worked (a furtive glance, for instance), but nothing more. That’s just not Varys.

All in all, though, the great absolutely overwhelms what little bad there is, and given that Varys is such a hard role to nail down correctly, I'm giving him the silver medal. Keep on paddling during Season 3, Hill. Just keep on paddling.

Best scene: Either the first scene with Tyrion and Shae, or that other scene with Tyrion on the ramparts where they devise about Tyrion’s talent as Hand of the King.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Not correcting or confirming anything. Calculations will be done when they'll be done!

Although I'll say one thing: I am absolutely confident in my three remaining rankings. While I may have switched a few characters around in the past, it was always clear to me from the start that SA#1 was going to take the cake as far as supporting actors go, and that LA#2 was below LA#1, but above everyone else.

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Did you know there has been a marked drop in bumps lately?

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

We’ve also seen him be spiteful and acutely self-conscious, such as the scene in which Cersei slaps him. One minute, he’s full of arrogance and vanity, the next, he gets slapped and his first reaction is a look of shame and spite at the bystanders in the room who caught the slap. There’s a lot of energy in there, and what’s even more fascinating is how the rest of the scene unfolds, as you see him transition from shame to his usual arrogance as he tries to rebuild his kingly persona. At the end, everything is back to normal – the man threatened his own mother with a death sentence and makes the whole transition seem perfectly normal. Wow. This guy would make the Robb-Talisa romance believable.

What has impressed me most, however, is how subtly he can play such a one-note character when he wants to. I’m mainly thinking of Blackwater here, during that last scene with Tyrion and Lancel, as he prepares to answer his mother’s summons. Now, everyone brought their A-game during Blackwater, and as a result, Gleeson’s performance is often overlooked in favour of Headey’s, Turner’s or Dinklage’s. That’s a shame, because he absolutely nailed that scene and thoroughly impressed me. Once Lancel comes in and tells him that his mother has summoned him back to the Red Keep, you can see him torn apart.

To untrained eyes – ones that do not know the series and his character – it might look like the script is calling for hesitation between the safety of the castle and the satisfaction of riding with his soldiers, helping them win the battle with his own two hands. That is, of course, absolutely not the case: he’s actually weighing the safety of the keep with the own loathing he would have for himself, knowing that his men would see him run away, back to his mother’s skirts. Amazingly, this is exactly what Gleeson was gunning for, and even as he accepts Lancel’s proposition and turns tail, you can see just how ashamed he is of his own cowardice. He looks about to cry; he suddenly loses all the radiance he normally projects; he refuses to look anyone squarely in the eyes and just reverts back to a teenager running away, afraid. That is some seriously impressive acting.

What’s nice, also, is that Gleeson is apparently a really nice guy in real life, which makes his portrayal all the more chilling. It’s just a shame that Gleeson is portraying such a one-note character – give him anything else and I’m convinced he’d do wonders with it. I guess it’s a blessing, though, that we got such a terrific actor playing Joffrey.

Else, the brat would be truly unbearable.

Best scene: That scene with Lancel and Tyrion in Blackwater, as he runs back to the Red Keep and his mother.

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1. Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon)

Well, here we are. This should surprise absolutely no one, given just how fantastic Gleeson has been since the beginning of the series. Which is why I’ll start this write-up by tackling a much more controversial question: how the hell is Joffrey a supporting character?

As always, I do not consider the number or importance of the scenes to be of any help in holding whether an actor is leading or supporting. What I consider, however, is the focus of the scene. Is the point of the scene for us to get more insight into that person’s head, motivations or actions? If so, he’s a lead. Is the point of his presence to shed light on *another* character, to provoke interesting reactions from them or to help other characters to develop? If so, he’s supporting.

Now think back to Joffrey’s scenes: first scene on the tourney grounds, I’m willing to pin him as a lead, as the point was partly to show/remind audiences just how bad a king he is. Second scene in the throne room (aka Cersei-slap): supporting, as he’s there to show that Cersei is losing control and how she is coping with that loss of control – a focus which resonates with the earlier Cersei-LF scene. Episode 4, as he’s beating Sansa into a pulp? Supporting: shows us how bad Sansa has it, and also shows that Tyrion can be really kind when he wants to, and is not afraid to thread on toes if needs be.

Later scene with Tyrion and Varys on the ramparts (“I’ll give my uncle a red smile”)? He’s there for all but two seconds, the focus being that Tyrion is much smarter than Joffrey and much more competent as a ruler than pretty much anyone we’ve seen yet. EP9, as he rides into battle? Shows how far Sansa has grown (which, in retrospect, definitely cements her as the focus of the EP4 scene I mentioned). And so on and so forth. Only scene in which he’s definitely a lead is the one with the whores – in the light of all the other scenes outlined above, I’m pinning him as a supporting actor.

So, Gleeson. Wow. An utterly brilliant performance from beginning to end. I am amazed at how eager I am to see him in action, given that he’s my #1 most hated character in the books (he’s a good character, for sure, it’s just that I hate him with a passion). That’s really a testament to the energy and life that actor brings to a despicable character such as Joffrey.

How does the guy do it? Well, obviously, he has incredible screen presence. It’s not overbearing like Tywin’s or mad/unstable like Theon’s, but rather... radiant and brimming with energy. This makes for a larger-than-life performance: the minute he walks in on a scene (or, more accurately, appears on screen), the tone shifts and the viewer becomes uneasy. It’s pretty much impossible to ignore him whenever he’s featured on screen, even if he’s just standing there staring at the distance, waiting for Tyrion’s plan to come together in the middle of Blackwater.

I’d wager most of the energy he brings to a scene comes from the eyes. Seriously, just look at his eyes whenever the focus is on him. We’ve often seen him be sadistic, and part of the reason it’s so memorable is because he has a hungry, savage, absolutely disgusting look in his eyes whenever he’s seeing someone suffer in front of him. One look, and you know that this boy king is not a human being, but a barbaric sadist with the sanity of a ravening beast.

(cont'd in next post)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

DIE POINTS

Rex: 10 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2], Joffrey [+3])
EO: 7 points (Tywin [+1], Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2])
LOTM: 7 points (Tywin, Cersei, Theon ; Varys [+2], Joffrey)
ML: 6 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys [+2], Joffrey)
Kaxon: 6 points (Tywin [+1] ; Joffrey [+3])
Alec: 3 points (Theon, Cersei ; Varys)

In a surprising turn of events, Rex takes the lead! Will he manage to hold it, or will EO and LOTM overcome him? Guess you guys will just have to wait and see!

(Advance warning, though: I'll be doing both of the final writeups at once, and since they're going to be rather long, it might take me a fair amount of time to upload them.)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Gleeson's a great pick for number one, as I mentioned when I made the predictions the only reason I didn't include him is I didn't know whether he counted as lead or supporting.

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James - Board 8's Resident Warm And Safe, Slipper-Wearing User
& The Cream of Porcupine Tree Fanboyism

You nailed it.

The only thing I'd disagree with is his being a "one-note" character bringing him down. Gleeson earns my respect BECAUSE he plays a one-note character so well. He could have simply gone extremely campy and worked Joffrey in just fine because we'd seen the character done before. But Gleeson decided to go all Joaquin Phoenix and make a sympathetic villain as unsympathetic as possible.

You do NOT want to cheer for Joffrey. Any empathy or pathos developed with the character was quickly beaten out of you with Gleeson's Season 2 work.

I'll tell you his secret weapon: His Smirk. When he's torturing Sansa look at that incorrigible smirk that stretches across his face like open arms. It's so warm and charming which would be fine except he's torturing his wife in public. His smirk makes him the most punchable human being in existence. I want to punch him just thinking about it.


My favorite Joffrey Scene is his coronation day. The second Joffrey gets that crown, Gleeson takes this as his opportunity to strut; his chest puffs out, his words become paced and controlled to maximize effect, and he sets the stage for his Season 2 turn as rapacious sadist by the sheer delight he has in watching Ned Stark die. You could tell Gleeson had been waiting for this moment all season and when he finally got his time he absolutely nailed it.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Oh, I'm not bringing him down because he plays a one-note character. I'm saying it's a shame for him that he's stuck on such a one-note character, because he'd do wonders with more complex characters as well.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

I think Joffrey is the perfect role for Gleeson. It's such a dramatic archetype that it allows Gleeson to flesh out exactly where he wants to take him on a week to week basis.

The reason for this is that Joffrey the character was created by complex people(Cersei,Tywin,Jaime) but raised beneath the foot of a brutish one in Robert. He's not a real person but little snippets of these strong ones: Cersei's cruel streak, Tywin's brutality, Jaime's regal charm, and Robert's immature pomposity. Joffrey himself is never certain of who or what he is. This allows Gleeson to evoke a myriad of feelings from a character with a dearth of them.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

Bumpo

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Another bump in the road.

(Sorry, but I've been working a lot these past few days, so this will still take some time. In the meanwhile, I'm going to ask the few of you who are in the running for first place to start thinking about a song you'd like me to arrange on piano, if you haven't done that already. If you want to have an idea of my general style and skill - or lack thereof - feel free to browse my youtube account. [http://www.youtube.com/user/Solfadore])

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

oh gosh I can hardly wait


RX7

Tony Stark is actually a long lost brother of Ned's and the Others are actually Skrulls.

=O

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www.thegridironpalace.com
Always looking for new members, join today and talk football with your peers.

Finally started doing actual work on this, and lo and behold, I'm done with #2. Only #1 is left! I hope to have this posted by tomorrow.

(In my defence, the whole topic so far has amounted to 23,000+ words.)

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore

Winner is coming.

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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore