British actor Ian McShane is joining the cast of Game of Thrones in a role that reportedly will have a small amount of screen time but a lot of significance for Westeros.
That’s according to a report from Entertainment Weekly, also confirmed by Variety.
You might remember McShane from the last time he was involved with HBO, as Al “I sure do say ‘cocksucker’ a lot” Swearengen on the western Deadwood. Or you might remember him from my favorite of his roles, Stabby Hobo Santa Claus from American Horror Story: Asylum.
The reports say sources were mum as to who McShane will actually play on Game of Thrones, but there’s a fair chance no one would know who he is anyway, since Season 6 is officially in “not based on a currently existing book” territory.
Me, I hope he plays Bran Stark From the Future who comes back in time somehow to save the Stark family but accidentally picks the wrong year. It’d be a twist no one would ever see coming.
Phil Hornshaw is a freelance journalist and co-author of So You Created a Wormhole: The Time Traveler’s Guide to Time Travel and The Space Hero’s Guide to Glory. You can follow him on Twitter at @philhornshaw or contact him at philhornshaw@gmail.com.