My old friend Roy Dotrice, who had been scheduled to play the part of Grand Maester Pycelle, has had to withdraw from the show for medical reasons. Roy was a colleague of mine from our days together on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, where he played the part of Father. More recently, he was my own personal choice as the reader on the audiobooks for A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, and did a wonderful job of reading the first three volumes (a schedule conflict required us to use a different reader for book four), playing all the parts and giving each character his own distinctive voice. Roy would have magnificent as Grand Maester Pycelle, and I was eagerly looking forward to seeing his council scenes with Varys, Littlefinger, and Ned.
Unfortunately, his health does not permit him to continue at this time. I just spoke with Roy, who is presently in Los Angeles receiving treatment. He tells me that his doctors say that, with three or four months of treatment, he should be back to his old self, and "right as rain" by Christmas. David and Dan and the folks at HBO were as distraught about losing him as I was, and all of us wish him a speedy and complete recovery. Once Roy is back to full health, we hope to find another role for him in the series. After all, he's played them ALL on the audiobooks.
Good luck, Roy. All your fans and friends will be thinking of you.
Meanwhile, back in Belfast... they have this saying in the theatre, you know the one... "the show must go on." And so it must. The redoubtable Nina Gold and her team faced a huge task in finding someone to fill the shoes of a Roy Dotrice, but as ever, they have done a smashing job. The role of Grand Maester Pycelle will now be played by JULIAN GLOVER.
Glover has a list of credits in stage, screen, and television that's just as long as that of Dotrice. The two of them have worked together, in fact -- when I mentioned him to Roy, he responded that Glover was "my old mate from the Royal Shakespeare Company."
Our new Pycelle will be no stranger to fans of SF and fantasy. He was an Imperial officer in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and he's appeared in DOCTOR WHO, TROY, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, and even SPACE: 1999, among countless other films and television shows. More recently, he's been seen in THE YOUNG VICTORIA and in the forthcoming PRINCESS KAUILANI (with the lovely Tamzin Merchant).
Roy Dotrice will be missed, but Julian Glover will make Pycelle his own, we have no doubt. Last I heard, he was already in Belfast, being fitted for a long white beard.
- Current Mood:
sad
Profile
grrm- George R.R. Martin
- George R. R. Martin
Page Summary
- dyehead : Condolences [+0]
- rappy7 : Luck [+0]
- lauriemann : (no subject) [+0]
- magthemighty : General Veers [+0]
- matthewbowers : (no subject) [+0]
rivertempest : (no subject) [+0]
- inizitu : (no subject) [+0]
- extaler_mineral : (no subject) [+0]
ragdoll : (no subject) [+0]
- bubblessoc : (no subject) [+0]
- inter_connected : Sending Roy Dotrice - Prayers and best wishes [+0]
- esc_key : (no subject) [+0]
- brudewollen : (no subject) [+0]
- saevel25 : (no subject) [+0]
- skwidspawn : Marcus Pycelle [+2]
- recession : (no subject) [+1]
- werthead : (no subject) [+0]
- meirwen : (no subject) [+0]
- wesleykins : Your Choice [+0]
- mrmrsmith : (no subject) [+0]
- mizkit : (no subject) [+0]
- philmophlegm : (no subject) [+0]
- penitent_tom : (no subject) [+0]
- ariandar : (no subject) [+0]
- soultron : (no subject) [+0]
- hippoiathanatoi : (no subject) [+0]
- psychopomp_girl : (no subject) [+0]
- believe : (no subject) [+0]
of-love-and-hope.blogspot.com : For Roy, from his BATB friends [+0]
Comments
Glover is an amazing last-minute replacement.
Apparently he's recovered from having his walker blown up and his body melted by the fake holy grail...
Pity about Dotrice. I hope he feels better soon!
Things are coming together quite nicely!
@magthemighty Veers' walker didn't got blown up, except your talking about expanded universe (;
However, this is wonderful news about Julian Glover! I'm a big fan <3
Mr. Glover also played James Bond's nemesis, Kristatos, in "For Your Eyes Only" (another of my favorite franchises)
The world will be a lesser place without his marvelous voice. Any aspiring actor and voice artist will learn more from listening to his performance on the Ice and Fire audio-books than from any school.
His ability to bring countless characters to life is unparalleled. His performances reflect a lifetime of effort and mastery. I surely hope we get to see him perform on the HBO production.
From what I've heard of the audiobooks, he's fantastic in every and any role. (Dare I say he looks a bit Frey-ish in "Brief Lives"?)
On the other hand, Julian Glover is great, so the role will be in good hands, at least. An old friend of mine from college got to study with Glover when he went to the British American Drama Academy. This would have been back in around 1993, I believe. I hope I don't get the particulars of this story wrong, he told it to me more than 15 years ago, but apparently there is a Shakespeare First Folio (or a very old edition, at least) that gets passed around to all the top Royal Shakespeare Company actors who play Hamlet (not every Hamlet, just the best of them, I believe) and that Glover apparently had it for a while. The others were people like Olivier and Branagh, so he's in pretty good company there. I wish I could remember the details of the story, it's been so long.
Excited to See Julian Glover, one of my favorite characters from Indiana Jones. I am sure he will do great.
As for what role Dotrice could play, perhaps Walder Frey if the Freys are also being held back for Season 2? Otherwise maybe the Reader of Harlaw? Or one of the warlocks in Qarth, although they don't have much page-time?
But Glover's a terrific actor, and in particular he (like Mr. Dotrice) has a fine, sonorous speaking voice. He'll be terrific for Pycelle, who I imagine speaks in a very grand way.
*happydance*
Love always.