Game of Thrones season 5 cast: Nine new characters announced at Comic-Con 2014

Game of Thrones may have ended last month but plans for season five are already underway

Neela Debnath
Tuesday 29 July 2014 09:16 BST
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The new characters were announced yesterday at San Diego Comic Con
The new characters were announced yesterday at San Diego Comic Con

Nine new characters will be joining the cast Game of Thrones for season five of HBO’s flagship fantasy drama.

The announcement was made yesterday at San Diego Comic Con during a Game of Thrones Q&A session with cast and crew from the show.

Sitting on the panel were stars Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Gwendoline Christie, Natalie Dormer, John Bradley, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Rory McCann, Pedro Pascal and Rose Leslie, along with producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and writer George RR Martin.

The new additions were announced via a two-minute video, in which each actor revealed the character they would be playing and their thoughts on joining the series.

Many of the new cast will play characters primarily based in the dessert kingdom of Dorne.

Among the new faces joining the show will be Alexander Siddig, who will be playing Doran Martell, the stoic ruler of Dorne and the older brother of the gruesomely slain Oberyn. Previously, Siddig has starred in 24 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Newcomer Toby Sebastian will take on the role of Trystane Martell, the youngest son of Doran.

The Oscar-nominated New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes will play the fiery Obara Sand, one of Prince Oberyn’s illegitimate daughters, who is seeking revenge for her father’s murder at the hands of the Mountain in season four.

Castle-Hughes is best known for her role in 2002’s critically acclaimed Whale Rider and her turn in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

London-born star DeObia Oparei will play Areo Hotah, the loyal protector of Doran Martell. The actor has had parts in Moulin Rouge!, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and 2012's Dredd, which also featured Game of Thrones star Lena Headey.

The highest profile name joining season five is Jonathan Pryce, who will star as the High Sparrow, a religious figure who could be making waves in King’s Landing. Pryce has had successful career spanning four decades, with his turn as the villainous media mogul Elliot Carver in James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies being one of his most notable roles.

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Myrcella Baratheon will be played by newcomer Nell Tiger Free. Viewers may remember in season three that Tyrion shipped his niece off to Dorne against Cersei’s wishes. In season five we are likely to see more of the Westrosi princess, who is the incestuous offspring of her mother and her uncle Jaime.

Enzo Cilenti will take on the part of the slave trader Yezzan, the Bradford born actor has had various parts on film and television, including The Rum Diary opposite Johnny Depp.

Nymeria “Nym” Sand will be played by Jessica Henwick, her best known role to date is in television series Silk and Spirit Warriors. Nym is as equally as feisty as her “sand snake” sisters. Rosabell Laurenti Sellers will play Tyene Sand, another illegitimate daughter of Oberyn.

The new season of Game of Thrones is expected to air in 2015.

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