Becoming Bran Stark
Another casting post and another tough decision for the producers. Bran, as listed in the script, is 8 years old. They will most likely cast someone a bit older that looks younger. They can’t be too old though as you can’t have the actor going through puberty at a time when Bran is still only supposed to be 9 or 10 years old. So it will be a tough task finding a 10-11 year old that can pull off the role. Bran is mature beyond his years and they will need to find an actor that can accurately portray that. Let’s take a look at the choices.
Alex Etel – The young English actor from such films as Millions and The Water Horse. Etel has shown he is a talented actor. He also seems to have that “mature beyond his years” characteristic. Unfortunately, his age has now caught up to his maturity level. Having just turned 14, he is probably now too old for the role. Unless they decide to age up Bran much more than the version of the script I have calls for, he is probably not a good fit.
Bill Milner – Milner made his acting debut in the British comedy, Son of Rambow. He has since starred in a few made-for-TV movies and a short. I think he has the talent and the right look. Unfortunately IMDb doesn’t list his birthdate, so it is unknown how old he is. In Son of Rambow he plays a ten-year-old, so I would assume he was around 10 at the time of filming that movie. Which would most likely make him 12 or 13 now. Possibly a bit too old to play Bran.
Asa Butterfield – Butterfield also appeared in Son of Rambow, however his breakout role was in The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas. His performance showed he has the acting talent to pull off this role. He is also, at around 10 years old, the perfect age. Plus, I think he has a good look for Bran. Young and innocent, but with a hint of sadness and seriousness. One potential problem would be his appearance on the BBC series Merlin. It looks like he has only been in one episode so far, but if that were to become a recurring role he would likely be out of the running.
Ellis Hollins – The youngest actor on this list, he still has the most acting experience, having appeared on the British soap Hollyoaks since he was a 1 year old. The past couple years he has won awards and critical acclaim for his acting on the show. He is the exact age that is called for in the script, so assuming they keep a steady filming schedule, there shouldn’t be any issues with him aging too fast. He could be a great fit, if they decide to go for an 8 year old actor and not someone a few years older.
Despite all our speculation and research into potential candidates, my guess is most of the child roles will probably go to unknown actors. It is easier to cast a talented unknown than it would be to try and get a successful young actor in for the role. An open casting call will give them lots of young actors to choose from and all of them would be cheaper than an already established child actor. Hopefully we will start getting some casting decisions soon, so we can begin to see what direction Benioff and Weiss will be going with this.
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