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

Game of Thrones Season 3: Richard Madden The epic journey continues with season three (GULF NEWS)

There are times when the epic journey that his character, Robb Stark, has embarked on in Game of Thrones has felt a little similar to Richard Madden’s own experience working on the acclaimed HBO show. You might say that they’ve grown up together.

On screen, Madden plays Robb Stark who, when still a very young man, is chosen to lead his people after his father Ned (played by Sean Bean) is murdered at the hands of the Starks’ bitter enemies, The Lannisters.
The warring clans are at the heart of a brutal battle for control of Westeros, the fictional land created by George R. R. Martin in his brilliantly imagined series of best selling fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin has now completed five volumes and a further two are planned.

Madden was just 21 when he landed the much sought after role in the show, which is based on Martin’s books, and he recently completed the third season. He has, he says, come of age as an actor during that time, mirroring his character, Robb, who develops into an assured, charismatic leader as the story unfolds.

“I went from being a young actor getting a great part in a big show, which I didn’t expect, with more and more pressure being put on me as an actor, which I’ve really enjoyed and hopefully I’ve handled well and acquitted myself well,” he says


READ MORE: http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/game-of-thrones-season-3-richard-madden-1.1163530

'Game Of Thrones' Season 3 Preview: The Challenges Ahead Kit Harington, Sophie Turner and more weigh in on their arcs ahead of Sunday's premiere. By Amy Wilkinson (@AmyMWilk) (MTV)

Winter came to New York on Wednesday (March 27), sweeping in on a cloud alongside "Game of Thrones" The Exhibition, a touring collection of Westeros memorabilia (think: Joffrey Baratheon's crossbow and Ned Stark's head!), co-sponsored by HBO and Time Warner Cable. And many of the realm's famous faces were also on hand at the VIP fete, where they gamely teased what fans of the epic should expect when season three premieres on Sunday.

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For virginal Jon Snow (played by Kit Harington) — whom we last saw north of the wall among the Wildlings — the opposite sex will pose the biggest challenge.


"I think it's resisting advances from a certain lady, and he's going to find that very hard," Harington told MTV News of his character's struggles this season. "[Also] convincing Mance Rayder and the Wildlings that he's a gentleman who wants to break free from the Night's Watch and be part of them. He's a spy in enemy territory, and he has to convince them that he is one of them and convince himself of that [which] can be ultimately quite confusing."

Meanwhile, half-sister Sansa (played by Sophie Turner) will try to evade her royal captor, former fiancé Joffrey.


READ MORE: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704639/game-of-thrones-season-3-preview.jhtml