7. Mackenzie Crook- Orell
Although hes played Gareth in
The Office, Ragetti in
Pirates of the Caribbean and
Johnnie White in Skins, it appears Mackenzie Crooks streak of grotesque characters will continue with his turn in his Game of Thrones. He plays Orell, a Wildling warg and skinchanger. Such a part will probably offer a window into GoTs more out-there supernatural elements; whilst weve now been properly introduced to the White Walkers, dragons and pyromancy, the idea of warging has still been nebulous. Whilst weve seen Brans capacity for it, the uninitiated still arent aware of what it actually
is. Enter Crook. This casting is intriguing exactly due to Crooks tendency to play these exaggerated characters. We need this sort of character in order to better explain the skinchanging phenomenon, and Crooks physical performances can fit that bill. Hes a very good audience surrogate- after all, it was he who had the mammoth task of explaining the labyrinthine plot of Pirates to us, and he damn near succeeded. Now he doesnt have to carry the whole enterprise on his shoulders, just a certain part of it. It should be easy for him. Furthermore, Orell needs to be capable of fierce hatred (not going to spoil why), and anyone who saw Crooks terrifying against-type performance in Accused as a psychotic Lance Corporal will see that hes very much capable of that. All in all, a good decision.