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UPDATED: HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon casts High Priest and others

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HBO’s much anticipated Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon has just released its first teaser trailer, treating fans of the franchise to a first look of what’s to come in 2022. From what has been disclosed of the plot, it can be assumed that the first season will concentrate on the events leading up to the Dance of the Dragons, a Targaryen civil war 200 years before Game of Thrones.

It’s been a while since we last had something substantial to report on House of the Dragon, but today we can share a little casting update.


UPDATE: Bijan Daneshmand to play a High Priest

We recently received new information about Bijan Daneshmand’s role in House of the Dragon. While we initially reported that the Persian actor will play a character called The Priest, we can now specify that he will in fact play a High Priest.

The Red Priestess Melisandre in Game of Thrones

In George R. R. Martin’s world, the High Priest is the religious title given to the leader of the Red Priests of Rh’llor. On the other hand, the head of the Westerosi Faith of the Seven is called High Septon. In light of this distinction, it seems likely that we’ll see Daneshmand as a worshipper of the Lord of Light, the god most will remember vividly from Carice Van Houten’s portrayal of Melisandre in Game of Thrones.

Keep in mind that is just an informed guess based on the role title and may be subject to change if new information comes to light.


Mysaria gets a younger version

To kick things off, we learned that Spanish-Korean actress Rosa Escoda (Line of Duty, The Remote Office) will play a young Mysaria, an ambitious Lysene dancer who uses her talents to become friendly with the mighty of the court.

UPDATE 08/2022: Upon the release of the first episode, it’s clear Mysaria doesn’t get a younger version. However, Rosa Escoda’s character was codenamed ‘YM‘, while Young Rhaenyra and Young Alicent were ‘YR‘ and ‘YA‘ during casting, hence why we assumed YM must have been Young Mysaria.

We will see Escoda in House of the Dragon, but apparently as someone else with the initials YM.

Rosa Escoda (Photo credits: Michael Shefford)

.Her official description reads:

She came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall, and could have wilted…but instead she rose to become the most trusted — and most unlikely — ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne.


Three more actors join the cast

Also joining the cast in various roles, are actors Edward Rowe, Bijan Daneshmand, and Nina Barker-Francis.

Edward Rowe, Bijan Daneshman, Nina Barker-Francis (Photo Credits: Thom Axon, Ruth Crafer, Kirill Kozlov)

Edward Rowe is an actor from Cornwall known primarily for playing the comedy character Kernow King. He also had a role in the BAFTA-winning film Bait and can be seen in the upcoming second season of The Witcher. In House of the Dragon he will protray Ser Howland Sharp, apparently a knight of House Sharp from the Iron Islands.

Bijan Daneshmand is an Irani veteran actor who has appeared in many film and television productions, including Deep State and The Night Manager. In House of the Dragon, he will play a character known as The Priest.

Nina Barker-Francis is a young British actress with television credits in Flack and The Power. She has a recurring role in House of the Dragon, playing a character called Jayne. While we don’t know much else about her at this point, Jayne or rather Jeyne seems a common enough name and she may be an original character created for the show.


That concludes our casting update. You can follow our Foreign Affairs section on Twitter for more updates on House of the Dragon and other upcoming fantasy shows.

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