Julian Glover is known for a variety of bit parts in iconic movies. His turns in both Star Wars Episode V and Raiders of the Lost Ark land him a unique spot in geek trivia, but somehow his performance as Grand Maester Pycelle goes unnoticed by fans of Game of Thrones. Pycelle has been a constant presence since his introduction in season 1, first seeming an elderly fool, and then revealing himself to be just as conniving as the rest of the Small Council. Glover's performance is a masterclass in how posture and mannerisms can affect a character. For most of his scenes in the show, he affects the posture of an old and frail man, not daring to show any strength. However, in key scenes during the course of the show, he lets this facade drop, and reveals himself for what he really is a strong and healthy man for his age, with arrogance and a vicious streak a mile wide. The most dramatic of this scenes comes at the finale of season 2, when he confronts the wounded Tyrion in his cell. He delivers the news of Tyrion's reversal of fortune a revenge of sorts for him with such barely-sustained glee completely counterpoint to his normally meek composure. Julian Glover takes in essence an unremarkable character from the books, and make him a truly memorable on-screen presence. Why is this Performance Overlooked? The most compelling reason I've heard is that not enough fans of the show care about Pycelle as a character - he isn't a major player and doesn't do anything significant in the plot that isn't supporting the more fiendish of the Lannisters. That, and he doesn't have much screentime of his own, despite Glover's impressive work.
Self-evidently a man who writes for the Internet, Robert also writes films, plays, teleplays, and short stories when he's not working on a movie set somewhere. He lives somewhere behind the Hollywood sign.
