Rings movies and Patriot Games , and as the Bond villain in 1995’s Golden Eye . Despite a career playing mainly bad guys, Bean rose to fame as the maverick Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe in the hit British series Sharpe . The roguish officer stole the hearts of female viewers, with the male ones impressed by his rousing derring-do. So who better to play the noble Lord in Game of Thrones .
Martin announced on his blog in 2009: ‘For the movie fans out there, Sean Bean needs no introduction. I mean, what the hell, he was Boromir (in Lord of the Rings ) and he was Sharpe, he was terrific in both roles, and in a hundred other parts besides. I can’t imagine a better Ned. The deal took some doing, so my fingers have been crossed for a month now (and boy, that made it hard to type), but now it’s done, and I’m thrilled.’
‘It’s a good thing to be typecast, isn’t it?’ Bean said to Collider about playing another fantasy character. ‘I suppose it’s similar to The Lord of the Rings in its size, its quality, its magic and its danger. I happen to enjoy playing the kind of roles with riding horses, swinging swords, having fights, wearing wigs and growing beards, even though I don’t first thing in the morning, when it takes you about three hours to get ready. I do have affinity to that kind of role. I think the good thing about Game of Thrones is that there is such score for it. The Lord of the Rings was three films, and they thoroughly researched it, and it was very well replicated on screen. But, with what George has created, it’s a very different world. It goes on much, much further and much longer, and there’s many more twists and turns, but I certainly enjoy this genre.’
And he was delighted when he first met David and Dan. ‘I read the book and found it very exciting, very luxuriant, very dangerous, very edgy and very sexy. That’s very flattering. I’m very flattered that I was chosen to play this part.’
News of his casting met with near-universal endorsement, with Bean adding, ‘I’m not really familiar with computers and blog sites and stuff like that, but I’ve heard some good things. So that’s encouraging. They seem to think I’m a suitable choice for the role so I’m flattered by that.’
And talking about his death, he said, ‘It’s quite heroic, I suppose. I didn’t just get knocked off and nobody notices.
Plenty of people noticed. It was a good one. It really sets the standard, which is high already, for what you would expect from HBO. This was a courageous venture to take on in the first place, with such a vast, big-scale production, and this very bold, daring narrative structure. It’s a good thing about George R. R. He’s prepared to kill off the main guys. You don’t get the feeling that the good guy is going to last forever, like James Bond.’
Bean admitted, ‘He’s such a predominant character, straight through all of it, and you think, “Wait a minute, what’s happening?” He’s obviously been betrayed left and right and centre, but you never thought it would come to this. Even the shock on his face before it happens, it’s like,
“But we made a deal.” It’s a pretty awful ending and the kids are watching as well.’
‘We were in Malta in the middle of a big square,’ he added. ‘A big piazza with hundreds and hundreds of people on a raised platform. I’m making a last speech; I have my hands tied behind my back. I kind of say that I have betrayed the realm and I have been a traitor in order to save my children. It’s real heartbreaking stuff.’
NIGHT’S WATCH
The military order that is the Night’s Watch gives those that are underprivileged, not born to royalty or far down the line for a place on the throne a chance to seize some glory of their own. With luck, bravery and dedication, it’s entirely feasible for these lost men to find themselves in a position of power and be looked upon with high regard
Martin announced on his blog in 2009: ‘For the movie fans out there, Sean Bean needs no introduction. I mean, what the hell, he was Boromir (in Lord of the Rings ) and he was Sharpe, he was terrific in both roles, and in a hundred other parts besides. I can’t imagine a better Ned. The deal took some doing, so my fingers have been crossed for a month now (and boy, that made it hard to type), but now it’s done, and I’m thrilled.’
‘It’s a good thing to be typecast, isn’t it?’ Bean said to Collider about playing another fantasy character. ‘I suppose it’s similar to The Lord of the Rings in its size, its quality, its magic and its danger. I happen to enjoy playing the kind of roles with riding horses, swinging swords, having fights, wearing wigs and growing beards, even though I don’t first thing in the morning, when it takes you about three hours to get ready. I do have affinity to that kind of role. I think the good thing about Game of Thrones is that there is such score for it. The Lord of the Rings was three films, and they thoroughly researched it, and it was very well replicated on screen. But, with what George has created, it’s a very different world. It goes on much, much further and much longer, and there’s many more twists and turns, but I certainly enjoy this genre.’
And he was delighted when he first met David and Dan. ‘I read the book and found it very exciting, very luxuriant, very dangerous, very edgy and very sexy. That’s very flattering. I’m very flattered that I was chosen to play this part.’
News of his casting met with near-universal endorsement, with Bean adding, ‘I’m not really familiar with computers and blog sites and stuff like that, but I’ve heard some good things. So that’s encouraging. They seem to think I’m a suitable choice for the role so I’m flattered by that.’
And talking about his death, he said, ‘It’s quite heroic, I suppose. I didn’t just get knocked off and nobody notices.
Plenty of people noticed. It was a good one. It really sets the standard, which is high already, for what you would expect from HBO. This was a courageous venture to take on in the first place, with such a vast, big-scale production, and this very bold, daring narrative structure. It’s a good thing about George R. R. He’s prepared to kill off the main guys. You don’t get the feeling that the good guy is going to last forever, like James Bond.’
Bean admitted, ‘He’s such a predominant character, straight through all of it, and you think, “Wait a minute, what’s happening?” He’s obviously been betrayed left and right and centre, but you never thought it would come to this. Even the shock on his face before it happens, it’s like,
“But we made a deal.” It’s a pretty awful ending and the kids are watching as well.’
‘We were in Malta in the middle of a big square,’ he added. ‘A big piazza with hundreds and hundreds of people on a raised platform. I’m making a last speech; I have my hands tied behind my back. I kind of say that I have betrayed the realm and I have been a traitor in order to save my children. It’s real heartbreaking stuff.’
NIGHT’S WATCH
The military order that is the Night’s Watch gives those that are underprivileged, not born to royalty or far down the line for a place on the throne a chance to seize some glory of their own. With luck, bravery and dedication, it’s entirely feasible for these lost men to find themselves in a position of power and be looked upon with high regard
Similar Books
