Diana Rigg, Ciaran Hinds: 'Game of Thrones:' A Look at Season 3's New Faces and Characters (YAHOO)

By Carrie Bell | Yahoo! TV – Mon, Mar 25, 2013 1:03 PM PDT

The cast dishes on Ciaran Hinds, Diana Rigg, and (spoiler!) a giant arriving in Westeros this season.

Helen Sloan/HBO - Mance Raydar (Ciaran Hinds) and Lady Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) in "Game of Thrones" Season 3.

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains storyline and character spoilers for the third season of "Game of Thrones."

With 27 series regulars and hundreds of guest stars, day players, and extras wandering in and out of Westeros and points beyond, keeping track of who's who on "Game of Thrones" is almost as big a feat as planning the Battle of Blackwater Bay. That task isn't going to get any easier when Season 3, which was shot by three units across five countries and promises plenty of fresh faces, begins March 31 on HBO.

Arguably, the most major addition to the cast was Ciaran Hinds. One, his resumé is as respected as Tywin Lannister's and almost as long as the feared coming winter, with "Rome," "Harry Potter," "Political Animals," and "There Will Be Blood" among the highlights. Two, he is portraying Mance Rayder, the ex-Night's Watchman who united 90 clans into one Wildling army currently moving in on the Wall. Rose Leslie (Ygritte) admitted at the junket last week in Beverly Hills to being a tad starstruck as "we've been watching him from a young age. Phenomenal."

Kit Harington, whose Jon Snow is trying to infiltrate the camp and must get Rayder to trust him, was also in awe. "He's a wonderful, wonderful man, and for someone who hadn't read the books and hadn't even seen the show when he joined and did his first few scenes, he nailed the character. That's the mark of the man's genius and genius of the writing."

READ MORE: http://tv.yahoo.com/news/-game-of-thrones---a-look-at-season-3-s-new-faces-and-characters-200346280.html

The 2013 Awards Shortlist: Vote Now The final vote for your actors and films of the year! (EMPIRE)

Imagine your ideal awards ceremony. It wouldn't be four hours long. There would be no awkward/sexist/lame musical numbers. Winners would be allowed to take as long as they want, and thank whomever they want in their speeches, and would be positively encouraged to tell us shaggy dog stories about their experiences on set. And the whole thing would be irreverent, laidback, relaxed and very funny. In other words, The Jameson Empire Awards.

Yes, the show we're calling the antidote to Oscar fever is back — on Sunday March 24, to be precise. As ever, the majority of the categories will be decided by our readers, so we need YOUR votes for the best films and performances in the period running from January 27, 2012, to January 25, 2013.

It's a very open race, with box office behemoths Avengers Assemble, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey all in contention. Then there are the smaller yet no less deserving entries like The Raid, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Sightseers, Argo, Looper and Django Unchained – as well as many, many more.

The individual categories will be hard-fought too. For example, fancy choosing between Looper, Prometheus, Avengers, The Hobbit and Dredd in Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy? Nope, us neither.

Best Male and Female Newcomers always throw up some interesting faces, including everyone from Beasts Of The Southern Wild’s Quevenzhane Wallis to Steve Oram for Sightseers, while Best Director will see a battle of the heavyweights with Christopher Nolan, Joss Whedon, Sam Mendes, Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino battling it out.

To vote, simply select your favourites in each category below — and don't forget, you'll be entered into a ballot to win a pair of tickets to the Jameson Empire Awards, where you could find yourself rubbing shoulders with this year’s nominees and special guests.

CLICK ON HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITES