Game Of Thrones Season 7 Premiere: 9 Ups And 3 Downs From 'Dragonstone'

5. Jim Broadbent Is Perfect For GOT

Jim Broadbent Harry Potter Game Of Thrones
Warner Bros./HBO

Game of Thrones is known, among all the sex and violence and so much death, for its stellar cast, which features a number of well-known veterans from British cinema and television.

Joining the likes of Jonathan Pryce and Ian McShane as great additions to this pool is Jim Broadbent, who arrives as an Archmaester in Sam's storyline and fits so perfectly in this world that you immediately question how he's never been here before.

Broadbent, an Oscar winner, is giving a similar take to the one we saw him perform as Horace Slughorn in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (especially with talk of the restricted section), but that's hardly a bad thing. There's a good chance the show will mix some Marwyn the Mage in there alongside Archmaester Elbrose (who specialises in healing, which we see a bit of here, sorta), so he should only get better too.

He adds an extra, much-needed layer to the Citadel, and expertly encapsulates the sage-yet-odd nature of the location and its inhabitants, while adding some important foreshadowing about the Wall standing.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.