By Jove, we got it!
The legendary Roy Dotrice, a longtime friend of George R. R. Martin and voice artiste extraordinaire has been cast to play Pyromancer (traditionally called a “Wisdom”) Hallyne. Some of you know of Roy due to the fact that he was initially cast to play Grand Maester Pycelle, but had to pull out before the first season due to an illness.
Most others know him because he is responsible for the thousand-and-one voices you hear on your A Song of Ice and Fire audiobooks; Roy did all of them except A Feast for Crows, and is quite well regarded within the fandom because of that.
George confirmed our suspicions on his Not A Blog:
Yes, it’s ROY DOTRICE in the role of Hallyne the pyromancer, chief of the Guild of Alchemists.
The “hot hint” was a reference to pyromancy, of course.
Down under Manhattan, in the tunnel community of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Roy played Father, the wise leader of the tunnel folk.
Later, as audiobook reader, he did all the myriad voices in the first three Ice & Fire novels.
And of course the alchemists style themselves with the honorific “wisdom.”
Roy is one of the finest actors I have ever had the privilege of working with, and I’m thrilled to have him back on the series.
Fire and Blood: I’ve been waiting for this fine shoe to drop for a while now; many of us hoped Roy would find a spot somewhere on the show, health willing. Props to the loyalists of House Gatewatch here at Winter-Is-Coming for digging through George’s clues so quickly: Lord of Fangs guessed the role was that of Hallyne, and Stephanie Rosalie Polizzi figured out it was Roy. Great work!
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69 Comments
Welcome aboard Roy! I haven’t once listened to the audiobooks, so I really want to find out now what all the hype is about. Excpecting some vocal magic!
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
Tar Kidho,
Ditto. I actually talked my mom OUT of getting the audio book and gave her my copy of the print version instead. I know my local library has the audio books to check out.
lebafQuote Reply
his audiobooks are amazing. amazing.
CharlesQuote Reply
Welcome Mr. Dotrice! Hope you’ll have a blast on the show! Good luck to you1
loco73Quote Reply
Glad Dotrice is feeling healthier, and finally ready to appear in the show!
I was sad when he had to be re-cast last year, but I actually think Julian Glover made a perfect Pycelle.
LexQuote Reply
This will be great fun..I like Hallyne in dithery mode. I’m really looking forward to this.
ObsidianQuote Reply
Good to hear it. As far as I’m concerned, they could have cast this wonderful man in any role of the series and I wouldn’t have complained. Literally any role.
To all who have never listened to the audiobooks, consider it for your next “read” through. He adds layers of richness and beauty to George’s already wistful descriptive language, besides the great vocal performances of the characters. I really like Peter, but he doesn’t come close to Roy’s Tyrion. Actually the same can be said about most of them…
salukQuote Reply
was so sure he was gonna get cast as Hoster.
Regardless, his audiobooks are goddamn amazing! Can’t wait! So happy he gets to appear onscreen in the show.
Seriously, listen to the audiobooks…they are a beast all their own thank to Roy
Brad VillaneQuote Reply
lebaf,
Some might not agree, but I think you did your mom a good dead – nothing beats one’s own imagination to colour the world between GRRM’s words!
saluk,
Brad Villane,
Well, I never liked to be read to by my parents (or anyone else for that matter) when I was small, and downright hated it when my sister put on an audiobook of a fairytale, so I’m sure it’s just not for me… But I’m really happy we get Roy, can’t wait to see him in action!
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
Listening to the 2nd audiobook now. He’s very good at switching between his prose voice and his acting-as-a-character voice, and 99.9% of the time makes all the characters distinct from each other, only lapsing sometimes when he does two characters with overlapping accents (say, two old, gruff Northerners) who make short, sharp exchanges with each other.
This is nothing to do with his talent, but it certainly takes a bit of getting used to a Welsh Tyrion (particularly after being introduced to the character via Peter Dinklage’s performance), and it’s a little odd that Jaime and Cersei don’t seem to have Welsh accents themselves, but I suspect he was purely working off the idea that Tyrion is (or sounds like) a Welsh name.
TropxeQuote Reply
I don’t know… I might have complained if he was cast as Queen Cersei.
David DufwekeQuote Reply
I was hoping he would get a larger role! I don’t mind in this case an expansion of a role just have more Dotrice. I can’t wait to hear him and Tyrion play against one another.
(major Dance spoiler)Besides, Prycelle dies in Dance, and King’s Landing will need a new maester, right? :) In this case I don’t mind casting an actor for more than one role, his health allowing. He’s talented enough to pull it off.
He would’ve made Ros more palatable.
clemintineQuote Reply
I was introduced to the book series at the same time as my boyfriend, and so we went through them all on audiobook so that we could hear the the story together. I’ve had several re-listens but never actually *read* one of the books and never felt the need to. Dotrice’s voice is beautiful and brings a real gravity to the world. He’s fantastic in the sad, serious moments and in the humerous ones too, he really seems to hit the atmosphere of the work on the head. I’m not suprised GRRM is so pleased with his work. Roy Dotrice is the voice of Ice and Fire for me, and I’m absolutely delighted that he’s in the TV adaptation!
RosieQuote Reply
YAY YAY YAY!
I’ve loved Roy ever since Beauty and the Beast, I’m so glad he’s going to be in GOT! Can’t wait to see him and, more importantly, hear him. :D
EmmaQuote Reply
Welcome back Roy.
Johan SporreQuote Reply
Did you see this? GoT wins “Outstanding new program” at TCA awards.
Johan SporreQuote Reply
Dotrice interacting with Tyrion onscreen will give me such a nerdboner.
Steve the PirateQuote Reply
Dotrice interacting with Tyrion onscreen will give me such a nerdhappy.
Steve the PirateQuote Reply
I can’t wait for that really funny and iconic scene where Hallyne is practically apologising to Tyrion for making more wildfire that he ordered because the formulae had started working better than expected, almost as if there were dragons back in the world :D
Nick LarterQuote Reply
we got it!! lol ;D
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
David Dufweke,
He couldn’t have done worse. (What? It’s the only casting I don’t like — and that includes Shae — let me be snarky.)
Michelle R.Quote Reply
Johan Sporre,
They sure like saying ‘Outstanding achievement in’ a lot… But congrats to GoT, it is known that many more awards will follow!
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
Holy Mother of… he is 88 years old! :o
LouiseQuote Reply
Louise,
Which strongly indicates he might not be able to finish the audiobooks at the rate they’re being written. We think the actors being cast for the show are under a lot of criticism, but those are some really big shoes to fill.
Michelle R.Quote Reply
Why is every post of Winter Is Coming copied verbatim at http://thronesblog.com/
oracle86Quote Reply
Louise,
Yeah, I was actually completely amazed by this because I’ve been listening to his reading of Dance and his voice is still so strong and his reading is as good as ever. Obviously he had some health issues last year which is par for the course at his age, but he’s clearly aging very well, and long may he continue to do so!
RosieQuote Reply
Hahahaha!! it’s almost not fair.
Dotrice has already done Hallayne’s part, and for all intents and purposes, practiced his lines! LOL I’m gonna go listen to those sections again today and look forward to watching him do it onscreen.
Great, great choice.
EdQuote Reply
That’s a tiny tiny role though, right? Like one scene, two scenes max?
I don’t even remember Hallyne.
Nice to see it coming together though.
Franny BeeQuote Reply
Franny Bee,
It’s a small role yes, and in GoT terms that means very little screen time (e.g. the Mountain past season), but I’m sure there’ll be several scenes featuring Hallyne together with Tyrion. (Tyrion is such a popular character that he’ll draw more and more screen time me thinks…)
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
His audiobooks ARE amazing. Truly. Very glad he’s back for ADWD and it’s great he’s getting a part in the series.
Tony WitherspoonQuote Reply
George@Google, the session that was held a week or so back.
Johan SporreQuote Reply
Excellent news. I’m sure this will be stellar!
KGQuote Reply
I wish he could be given the chance to re-record AFFC for consistency’s sake :(
ZackQuote Reply
Zack,
Wouldn’t that be rather shabby treatment of whoever stepped in and did the job when Mr. Dotrice was unable to?
KGQuote Reply
I couldn’t agree more. I loved the scene where he goes from spritely to sullen, how — without words — he tells the viewer he is not who he seems. How his mind is not as clouded, feeble and withered as his public visage betrays.
Genius stuff.
…ryan
Ryan DunnQuote Reply
Ah fantastic. Nice to have that link between voicing the characters in the audiobooks and getting to play one of them on screen. What a provilege.
BroQuote Reply
It will be nice to see “Father” back on television again.
aleksaQuote Reply
I’ve never heard the audio books, but it’s good to see a well-regarded actor joining the cast. Hallyne is the sort of character who could seriously add to or detract from Tyrion’s story depending on how well the part is played.
Anyone know off the top of their head how long a typical asoiaf audiobook is?
GaRQuote Reply
GaR:
A Game of Thrones
Length:33 hrs and 50 mins
A Clash of Kings
Length:47 hrs and 37 mins
A Feast for Crows
Length:31 hrs and 10 mins
A Dance with Dragons
Length:49 hrs
MongerelQuote Reply
KG,
I’d react similarly if the roles were reversed, I think. I’m not even averse to giving John Lee the opportunity to record the 4 books that he hasn’t. There are a lot of folks with OCD issues for whom having the same reader across the series would be very much preferred, and I’ve no doubt that some of them prefer Lee.
ZackQuote Reply
Mongerel,
Oh wow.
And people say they don’t have enough time to read the novels…
GaRQuote Reply
Congratulations to Mr. Dotrice. It will always be sentimental to see him on screen, even briefly. He deserves to be part of the legend.
I was not a fan of his reading of Dance, though. His “Dany” sounds like aged crone and his “Mel”, who he used to read all low, smoky, and mysterious, he now reads in a strangely accented near falsetto. Pretty awful, frankly. I don’t mean to be hurtful, but he doesn’t sound like his breath control is very good either. He’s comfortable uttering. No more than six words at. A time.
I highly recommend the audible versions of the first four, but don’t pay $44 to listen to Dance.
MongerelQuote Reply
Looks like someone is re-posting the RSS feed from this site..
purplejillyQuote Reply
Yay! Hallyne is one of my favorite minor characters for some reason, maybe just because he’s one of the only people Tyrion has to deal with who’s not a total idiot or a schemer, even if he’s a little pretentious. And his line “Be very careful. Be very very careful” always cracks me up.
mummerQuote Reply
Fans of Angel may recall Dotrice from a small but highly memorable role as Wesley Wyndham-Price’s father (or more precisely, as the bot impersonating his father).
Tom HiltonQuote Reply
Congrats to Roy! I was a fan of his during the Beauty & Beast tv show, and have been enjoying his reading Game of Thrones audio CD which I bought recently! (My only complaint about the audio CD’s: my wife doesn’t like listening to books on tape in the car! So I only get to listen during solo trips! Cetainly not a Roy issue! lol On the other hand, it is extending my listening pleasure of the series.)
I am so pleased that he will be in Season 2!
David The GreyQuote Reply
Haha, GRRM said his least favourite scene was Robert’s “hunting” scene (four people walking through the woods, instead of a large mounted party).
LexQuote Reply
It was weird that he changed Dany’s voice, to me she sounded like a mix of Osha and Missandei… Otherwise good job. Actually AFFC was the only book I read, because Dotrice did not record it… Took ages to finish due to the slow plot…
Chris77Quote Reply
I admit I totally forgot this character existed, but that’s neat that someone so close to the book series got a part in the show.
Off Topic: While we’re waiting for more casting news, here’s something I made because of a casting suggestion I thought of in the Ygritte thread. I’m sorry, I had to do it, and honestly, it was a little bit scary making this, but here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66117912@N04/6019419217/in/photostream
fancySansaQuote Reply
Nice, but when are we going to get some Tullys?
EleanorQuote Reply
fancySansa,
LOLOLOL
OhWhoCaresQuote Reply
fancySansa,
I just threw up a little in my mouth. Well done!
KnurkQuote Reply
I don’t understand why that site exists. I understand maybe having your own blog and supplementing with stuff from this site but its all straight from WiC. AND there’s a ‘favorite character’ poll on the side that doesn’t even include BRAN. Or Arya. But GENDRY is on it.. Don’t get me wrong, I like Gendry, but I LOVE BRAN
OhWhoCaresQuote Reply
There are lots of sites that just repackage content from other sites (although this one is a little more slickly produced than most), and it’s pretty much just to sell advertising. If the site is cheaply hosted and manages to attract enough readers, it could make a profit on ad clicks.
mummerQuote Reply
mummer,
Oh, ok. Well that makes sense. Didn’t think about it in terms of making money haha
BUT they still should have had Bran on the poll :P
OhWhoCaresQuote Reply
No, you DID NOT have to do that. No one had to do that, ever. But nicely done… ew.
mummerQuote Reply
Fully sick subwoofa!
SensukiQuote Reply
Roy Dotrice my favorite minor characters for some reason..hehehe
About debtQuote Reply
But thronesblog is exclusively copying the content from this site. It’s effectively become a duplicate of winter-is-coming.net, reaping the benefits of the hard work that WiC and FaB are putting in. That doesn’t sound ethical to me.
oracle86Quote Reply
Hannah Murray apparently has been cast as Gilly. http://www.troikatalent.com/clients/printpdf/michael-duff/hannah-murray/
knowsomethingQuote Reply
Obviously this was a Clue GRRM could come up with in no time after returning home as it involved a good friend. I hope he’s been working the past days on more complex riddles about some higher-profile characters. I’m expecting Roose or Mance or some Ironborns or a couple of Tullys, George. This evening!
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
knowsomething,
Oh my, I don’t know her, but based on that picture alone she looks so lovely and innocent that it’s gonna brake many viewer’s hearts seeing her at Craster’s Keep!
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
Of course it’s not ethical; I never said it was. I was just explaining why people do that. It’s one of those popular but sleazy ways to make money (probably small amounts, but I don’t know) on the Internet, since it requires pretty much no effort at all after the initial setup of the RSS feed and the advertising. Notice that there’s no information at all on the site about who runs it. If there’s a complaint to their service provider, they’ll probably just shut it down and move on to something else along the same lines.
mummerQuote Reply
Mongerel,
I wouldn’t normally post just because I disagree with someones opinion but because Mongerel’s giving advice here not to buy the Dotrice recording of Dance I’d like to offer an alternative perspective. The change in the voice of Dany is a little disorientating, but it in no way marred my enjoyment of this audiobook. Dotrice continues to read beautifully and powerfully and just seems to ‘get’ the tone of ASoIaF just right. I would highly recommend the audiobook as I would all of his other recordings in the series.
Hannah Murray was great in Skins and I’m on board with her for Gilly! Looking forward to seeing her. With David Bradley already cast as Walder Frey I’m wondering who they’re going to cast for Craster.
RosieQuote Reply
I’m wondering if he’ll do the same voice as he did in the audio books for this pyromancer. He had a real over the top “hmmmmmmmm” if I remember correctly.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
He has a great presence! I must confess I listened to a bit of his readings and was put off by how he did women’s voice. However, his voice IS awesome. I, too, had hopes to see him as Hoster, but I’m glad to welcome him on board as Hallyne! (of whom, sadly, I remember nothing.)
Blackfish BluesQuote Reply
I’ve recently listened to all 5 of the Song of Ice and Fire books on audio after reading series a few years ago. Four of these books were read masterfully by Roy Dotrice so I am very excited by this casting. I can’t think of a more appropriate casting for Hallyne…right look, right voice!
JohnnyDingoQuote Reply
i have listened to all of the audiobooks while reading the books (i take the audiobooks to the gym with me), and i have to say that i hate roy’s work. yes, he does do a lot of voices, but that does not change the fact that it still sounds like a 90 year old man on his deathbed is reading to you. it really sucks out a lot of the energy for me. i liked the guy who did feast for crows marginally better, but they could really use somebody better for the next book.
Tar Kidho,
tomQuote Reply
I agree with the guys about Roys voices in ADWD. I found Dolorus Ed’s voice very different in ADWD when compared to the first three books in which I thought Dolorus Ed’s voice was one of the best. So it’s not just Dannys or Mels voices that I found very different, I wonder why he did that.
TonyQuote Reply
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