Another Harry Potter actor is heading to Westeros. According to TV Line, Jim Broadbent has joined Game of Thrones Season 7 as — what else — a mystery character. Broadbent is likely best known to most Game of Thrones fans as Professor Slughorn from the Harry Potter movies. Now that Broadbent has joined the cast, he brings the total of shared Harry Potter and Game of Thrones actors to at least 9. It's almost like Hogwarts is nestled beside Winterfell hidden by a shroud of magic at this point.
His Harry Potter credentials aside, Broadbent is an accomplished actor who won an Oscar in 2012 for his supporting work in the movie Iris. While no details about his Game of Thrones role have been released, it has been confirmed it will be "significant." One clue as to who Broadbent could be playing may be found in the Season 7 casting notices that were released earlier in the summer.
The casting notices revealed Game of Thrones was on the hunt for an actor to take on the role of a priest around the age of sixty. Broadbent fits the description perfectly, but given Sam's relocation to the Citadel I cannot help but wonder if the role is actually a priest or is that just what the casting department said to throw viewers off the scent. At this stage, it would make way more sense for the show to cast a maester in charge of teaching Sam the ways of their order. Broadbent certainly has the look of a maester and with Sam in a position to obtain pivotal information as he works toward acquiring his chain, he is going to need a teacher.
Sam is poised to take on a pivotal role in the final chapters of Game of Thrones . He possesses one of the few Valyrian steel swords and he has journeyed to the literal center of knowledge in Westeros. The potential for Sam to uncover secrets about the White Walkers, decipher prophecies, and piece together essential parts of the history of the Seven Kingdoms is vast. He can't just sit in a room and talk to himself though. The show needs at least one maester on hand to guide Sam, and Broadbent could be that character.
Of course, this being Game of Thrones, Broadbent could be someone else entirely. If the priest is a priest in the literal sense then Broadbent could be playing a character who picks up where the High Sparrow left off. Now that the show has surpassed the books there are precious few characters from the page who have not already appeared on the screen, making speculation much harder.
No matter who Broadbent stars as, the brilliant character actor is a welcome addition to Game of Thrones.
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