A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Cast: Who’s Who in Game of Thrones Prequel

Though the Game of Thrones franchise is now endemic to our culture, the success of the original fantasy epic wasn’t always so assured. One can imagine HBO execs’ mounting concern in the early days of Game of Thrones‘ first season as viewers were tasked with keeping up with the immense lore of George R.R. Martin’s sprawling “A Song of Ice and Fire” canon. Then Tyrion of House Lannister met Bronn of House No-One-In-Particular on the road to The Eyrie and everything changed.

Tyrion and Bronn’s unlikely bromance was the first of many Game of Thrones pairings that would launch dozens of YouTube fan compilations and low-res “Westerbros” gifs. It served as a reminder that, even amid all the political posturing, gratuitous nudity, and child defenestration, the core of this story would always be about interesting characters bumping into one another. Now, nearly 15 years later, second Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to boldly ask “what if we just built the whole thing out of oddball pairings?”

Based on Martin’s series of three prequel novellas called “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows the mismatched duo of dim-witted but good-natured hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall a.k.a. “Dunk” and his young, bald-headed squire Egg as they traipse across a postwar Seven Kingdoms looking for adventure.

“[This show] allows us to lean into the thing that I think a lot of Game of Thrones fans love, which is the odd couple pairings. That is essentially our show,” showrunner Ira Parker tells Den of Geek. “Everyone loves Brienne and Pod. Everyone loves The Hound and Arya. Game of Thrones was at its best when it could figure out who were the two least likely people to be in a scene together. That is my favorite stuff.”

Initially a writer for fellow Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, Parker was brought aboard the Dunk and Egg adaptation via an early morning text from HBO.

“[They were] like ‘what do you think about Dunk and Egg?'” he says. “The first thing I did is go and read them all. I had read the main series but I had never read Dunk and Egg. I spent about a week immersing myself in that world. I think, by the end of it, I came out knowing just as much if not more than George did about that period in history.”

That period of Westerosi history is a juicy one. Roughly 80 years since the Targaryen civil war known as the “Dance of the Dragons” (as depicted in House of the Dragon) has concluded, the Seven Kingdoms has just wrapped up another civil conflict – the first of many skirmishes in “The Blackfyre Rebellion,” in which a bastard branch of House Targaryen lays claim to the Iron Throne. While the lords indulge in their petty squabbles, life goes on for the smallfolk of Westeros, including one small folk who is not so small at all. Ser Duncan the Tall sets off for a jousting tourney at Ashford Meadow, where he’ll encounter his young charge Egg and get embroiled in a conflict that’s bigger than even him.

Accompanied by exclusive new character photos of Dunk, Egg, several Targaryens, and other major figures, Ira Parker guides Den of Geek through who to know before watching A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall

Ser Duncan the Tall a.k.a. “Dunk” isn’t just A Knight of the Seven Kingdom‘s central character, he might be an unprecedented figure within the Game of Thrones franchise thus far as he serves as the story’s only point-of-view.

“Having a single POV – that was probably the most challenging part,” Parker says. “Cutting away from one scene of Dunk to another scene of Dunk puts a lot on that character’s very broad shoulders.”

Providing those very broad shoulders is Peter Claffey – an Irish rugby player-turned-actor who previously appeared in similar swords and shields property Vikings: Valhalla and the Cillian Murphy-starring film Small Things Like These.

“Peter was in the mix very early. I would say that the biggest thing I noticed when he came in is that he got exponentially better every single time,” Parker says. “You don’t want someone who is a finished product. You want somebody who is going to grow into this. This is a huge job to take on for any actor of any level. Peter has risen to that challenge and more. I’m just so proud of him.”

Claffey also brings a certain level of humility that’s crucial for the role.

“He’s such a charismatic individual but he’s also just like Dunk. He’s got an inner anxiety about him. When he came into the first meeting he was like ‘my palms are sweating’ and I’m just like ‘this is perfect, this is what we wanted.'”

Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg

Identifying a compelling child actor to play a young character is often one of the most challenging tasks facing any given production. For A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, however, finding the right Egg might have just been its easiest endeavor.

“Dexter Sol Ansell was entry number one that I was sent at the very beginning of this process,” Parker says. “I watched his audition for Egg and I thought ‘that kid just nailed it. What do we do now?’ Our casting director was like ‘hold your horses, Ira, let’s see some other people first.’ But then we came all the way back around to him again. It feels like it was meant to be.”

An actor since the age of four, Ansell has already scored major roles like that of a young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Now he’s set to grow old(er) with the Game of Thrones franchise as Egg’s role evolves in fascinating ways in the stories to come.

Finn Bennett as Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen

After eight seasons of Game of Thrones and two of House of the Dragon, the Targaryen family has put together a lot of game tape for would-be dragon performers to analyze and emulate. Still, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ showrunner sounds surprised at how naturally Finn Bennett embodies the privileged Valyrian prince Aerion.

“Finn came in and knocked it out of the fucking park for us. He can do so many different interesting things. Because the show is so religiously through Dunk’s POV, I wanted [Aerion] to feel how Dunk experiences him, which is just this bad shit happens to you sometimes. It drops out of the sky from nowhere. That’s hard for Aerion because there’s less for [Finn] to bite into. A lot had to be done with very little.”

The son of Prince Maekar, who himself is the son (though not heir) of King Daeron II, Aerion is like many other young male Targaryen royals with no reasonable expectation of sitting the Iron Throne. That is to say: he’s kind of a dick. Delving into exactly why he’s kind of a dick was an acting challenge that Bennett, who previously shined in True Detective: Night Country and Alex Garland’s Warfare, rose to meet.

“The biggest challenge with Aerion is that we don’t dig too deep into his psyche as to why he is like this and I think that’s important. There are a lot of villain backstories in general across the film and television spectrum that I’m just getting a little sick of. It’s becoming a little cookie cutter. Aerion is almost unreadable at points. You think he’s having fun with it. Then you think it’s a personality defect or maybe his father. He’s mysterious. It could go so many different ways.”

Bertie Carvel as Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen

Prince Baelor Breakspear is the black sheep of the Targaryen family in more ways than one. For starters, he doesn’t look much like the other platinum blond dragons, sporting notably darker and shorter hair thanks to his mother’s Dornish heritage. Secondly, he’s also a surprisingly level-headed and chill guy. Much more Maester Aemon than the Mad King Aerys II, the realm has good reason to believe that he will be a fair ruler when he one day takes over for his father King Daeron II.

Per Parker, Baelor’s respectable nature created an interesting casting dilemma, “Baelor was very tricky,” he says. “Because the way he was written on the page you worry that he’s just going to feel bland. That was actually probably our hardest, most complicated search.”

Thankfully, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms found half-Dornish gold with two-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor Bertie Carvel, best known for playing Jonathan Strange in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Tony Blair in The Crown.

“Bertie Carvel is one of the greatest working actors today,” Parker says. “He came in and he gave it that little extra edge and bite. You so effortlessly believe he is the one in charge. That is not easily done. But to be reserved and thoughtful and kind and honest in his approach while also being a big dog is hard.”

Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle

As his sobriquet suggests, Ser Duncan the Tall is… well, tall. Naturally then, he is drawn to the similarly statuesque Tanselle, a humble puppeteer from Dorne. Finding the right performer for Tanselle began with understanding that physicality.

“We certainly knew the pool that we were going to be drawing from, which was modeling. Obviously [Tanselle] is pretty enough to draw Dunk’s attention and she’s tall and willowy. A lot of models fit that bill. The issue is, of course, was finding somebody who’s got almost the Talia Shire-esque vibe behind Tanselle. How to be shy but also not uninteresting. Tanzyn nailed that immediately.”

An Australian actress with only a handful of credits under her belt, Tanzyn Crawford provided precisely what production was looking for.

“The line that she nailed that got her the job was ‘All men are fools and all men are knights.’ When she says it to Dunk, he doesn’t even really know what it means. Is she taking a shot at me? She has a sly bit of dry wit. It made our decision very easy. She’s a wonderful actor.”

Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel “The Laughing Storm” Baratheon

Part of the fun in prequels is getting to see some of our favorite characters’ forebears. Once viewers witness Ser Lyonel “The Laughing Storm” Baratheon, it will immediately become apparent where Kings Robert and Renly got their joie de vivre from. (The taciturn Stannis, however, remains a mystery). Heir to Storm’s End and just a rollicking good hang, Ser Lyonel cuts a big presence through A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as does the actor who plays him, Daniel Ings.

“I had begun to think that I had written it poorly because we were getting auditions that just weren’t doing the scenes how they were in my head,” Parker says of Lyonel. “Then Danny Ings came in and it was like I had scored the script for him or something. Note-by-note. He got the ups and downs. Lyonel’s cadence. When he speaks, his words just rip through the air like Al Pacino.”

Best known for his breakout role in Guy Ritchie’s 2024 Netflix action series The Gentlemen, Ings now counts a very influential Thrones figure among his biggest fans.

“George [R.R. Martin] said, when he saw him in the first episode, ‘You gotta be careful. This guy might steal the show,'” Parker says. “I think some big things are happening for him. He’s gonna have a huge career.”

Sam Spruell as Prince Maekar Targaryen

Arriving to Ashford with Baelor and the rest of the Targaryen contingent is Prince Maekar, one of King Daeron II’s “extra” sons and Baelor’s younger brother. A serious and capable man, Maekar must contend with his own household of sons, each of whom he finds disappointing for entirely different reasons.

Embodying Maekar is veteran actor Sam Spruell, who just made waves in the fifth season of Fargo, playing the ageless and mysterious “Ole Munch.” For Parker, however, it was an even older role that made Spruell jump out.

“I knew him as the ex-boyfriend on Catastrophe, which I love,” Parker says. “Then I saw the work he did in Fargo and thought ‘This guy’s a genius. This is what we need.’ He does some really fun stuff. You believe him as Bertie’s brother. They just act how brothers do. He brought so many different layers to this role. His own sense of unique, quirky comedy, which we love here.”

Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway

While Raymun Fossoway may have a useful surname as a member of House Fossoway of Cider Hall in The Reach, in reality he is little more than a squire and stable boy to his much more famous cousin, Ser Steffon. That relatively modest station in life allows him to empathize with a lowly hedge knight like Dunk.

“Raymun is the perfect friend for Dunk to meet when he gets to Ashford,” Parker says. “We should all be so lucky to have a Raymun in our life. He’s a lord but he’s basically an apple farmer. Because we’re not in the big cities or the fancy castles, we can meet a greater cross section of lords in Westeros.”

Playing Raymun is Shaun Thomas, a little-known actor whose real life equestrian experience almost made its way onto the show.

“Shaun is Raymun in a lot of ways. All our guys do horse riding lessons. Shaun actually came up doing horse riding but not in a fancy, posh way. It’s sort of a back country way, as he would probably describe it. It has him leaning back with his legs out. I couldn’t quite convince my horse masters to let us do that.”

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres Sunday, January 18 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.