'Game of Thrones' casts Ciaran Hinds as Mance Rayder

Former 'Rome' star will play the King Beyond the Wall

By Alan Sepinwall Friday, Aug 17, 2012 11:31 AM

Ciaran Hinds, seen here in his current gig on "Political Animals," will play Mance Rayder on "Game of Thrones."

Credit: USA

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"Game of Thrones" has cast Ciaran Hinds to play Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, in the fantasy drama's upcoming third season.

Hinds, who's finishing up a stint on USA's "Political Animals" playing a very thinly-disguised version of Bill Clinton, has had practice wielding a sword and shield on HBO, as he played Julius Caesar on "Rome."

Mance was discussed frequently in the show's second season, but never seen. Hinds joins a new wave of "GoT" actors, including Diana Rigg and Mackenzie Crook.

The third season will premiere on March 31, 2013.

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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Discuss Scripted Dramas on HitFix Message Boards »

Graham

Hmm. Don't know if I agree. Isn't Mance supposed to be very very goodlooking? Colin Farrel wasn't available?
August 17, 2012 at 11:47AM EST Reply to Comment
- I'm more worried about the physicality. Ultimately though, Mance is so dangerous because of his berth of talents. It won't be an easy role to pull off, that's for sure.
  August 17, 2012 at 9:51PM EST
Hatfield

I'm sure many book readers will complain but I think he's perfect for this, and it seemed like only a matter of time before they scooped him up for some kind of important role.
August 17, 2012 at 12:06PM EST Reply to Comment
Sheldon

Great actor, not who I pictured when I read the book, i imagines someone a bit more dashing. He'll be fine.
August 17, 2012 at 12:15PM EST Reply to Comment
Sareeta

Ciaran's accent in Political Animals was terrible and for that alone I almost booed this choice. Then thanks to your article I realized this is the same actor who fabulously played Julius Caesar in Rome. Suffice it to say, my confidence is fully restored. This actor can absolutely pull off the charming, much talked about Mance Rayder. In fact, I'm very happy they chose Ciaran Hinds instead of McNulty, who just wasn't right for the role IMO.
August 17, 2012 at 1:12PM EST Reply to Comment
m

I thought John Hawks would be a great Mance (Martha Marcy/Winters Bone).
August 17, 2012 at 2:55PM EST Reply to Comment
evolution1085

Don't really see him as Mance (seems a bit too old, Mance seemed closer to Ned's age and just the physical description alone seems off). I hope he likes the cold.
August 17, 2012 at 5:53PM EST Reply to Comment

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'Game of Thrones' casts Ciaran Hinds as Mance Rayder

Former 'Rome' star will play the King Beyond the Wall