Season 3 Premiere Date: March 31, 2013!

Don’t forget that by the time we meet up with Beric again, he’s had a little work done by the Mountain.

From HBO

Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell. Also known as “The Queen of Thorns,” Lady Olenna is the grandmother of Margaery and Loras Tyrell and is, in many ways, the true leader of their powerful family.

Mackenzie Crook as Orell. A wildling raider, Orell is a “warg” or “skinchanger,” with the ability to enter the mind of an animal and control its actions.

Clive Russell as Bryndon “The Blackfish” Tully. Known far and wide as “The Blackfish,” Brynden is a famous knight and the uncle of Catelyn Stark. He quarreled bitterly with his brother, Lord Hoster Tully, and the two were estranged for many years.

Nathalie Emannuel as Missandei. Originally from the peaceful island of Naath, Missandei was sold into slavery as a child, along with her brother. She received education in various languages and became a translator to the slave trader Kraznys in Astapor.

Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon, the only child of Stannis Baratheon. An avid reader, she escapes her lonely life through myths and stories – her books are her most treasured possessions.

Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr. A key member of the outlaw band known as the Brotherhood Without Banners, he is a Red Priest, in service of the Lord of Light, and originally hails from the Free City of Myr, in Essos.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Jojen Reed, a mysterious and enigmatic young man who becomes an important ally to Bran Stark.

Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed. The eldest daughter of Howland Reed and a staunch Stark loyalist, Meera and her younger brother Jojen seek out Bran Stark to protect him on his hard journey north.

Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion. Once the lord of Blackhaven and a celebrated warrior, Lord Beric has now become the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a band of vigilante outlaws.

Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane. A famed wildling warrior and chief lieutenant of the “King Beyond the Wall,” Mance Rayder, Tormund is fearsome and strong, with a large build and a beard to match.

Philip McGinley as Anguy, an extremely skilled archer and key member of the outlaw band known as the Brotherhood Without Banners.

Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse Baratheon. The wife of Stannis Baratheon, Selyse spends much of her life in seclusion, shut away in a gloomy tower.

Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully. The younger brother of Catelyn Stark, Edmure has recently become Lord of Riverrun in the wake of his father’s death.

Anton Lesser as Qyburn, a former maester of the Citadel, who was stripped of his chain many years ago.

We have Anguy!

We still need a Vargo Hoat.
And we definitely know that Mance Rayder is waiting in the wings. They’ll probably film those scenes closer to December, so they have time.

Yes!!!

I knew that name sounded familiar so I just Googled her. Ahh, Ms. Peel, the crush I had on you as a small boy.

She doesn’t look like that anymore. I fell in love with her in those black leather outfits as well.

That’s cool they got Brutus from Rome to play Edmure.

A whole ton of characters we thought were going to be written out.

Haha, poor Tobias Menzies. “We need someone who plays notably unfortunate aristocrats.”

You can’t be a real fan without the official, authorized cookbook.

And after you eat the official food you can look forward to making official night soil.

House Tully:

— Alan

I watched the whole show (all seasons, not only the 2 years with Mrs. Peel) earlier this year. For whatever reason 2/3rd of the episodes were not shown in Germany until 2010.
It still works surprisingly well. The crazy Emma Peel seasons are still light years ahead of most stuff produced today, the more serious Honor Blackman crime / spy episodes are mostly good entertainment - if a bit slow - , and Linda Thorson’s cases also still have that special something, although the writers obviously started to repeat themselves.

Diana Rigg is a wonderful, classically trained actress … but she looks completely different nowadays. Loved her in that flawed James Bond film with Lazenby, in the trashy and very funny Theatre of Blood with Vincent Price and The Assassination Bureau.

edit:
She has signed for Doctor Who too!

In fairness, 40 years never improves anyone’s looks.

As far as I’m concerned The Avengers is still the best TV show of all time.

True. I didn’t mean it in a negative way. I was just a bit surprised that I couldn’t see resemblance at all, maybe except for the eyes. Like a totally different person.

This dude is Mance Rayder.

I’m not quite seeing it, though. Looks like HBO wanted to draw from its own well for this role; reports are they previously offered Dominic “Fuuuuuuuuuuck” West, but he declined.

Ciaran Hinds? That’s awesome. For those who haven’t seen Rome, he was an incredible Caesar.

Should be interesting. I can kinda see it… he was a perfect Caesar. I do picture someone younger though.

As an aside, it was kinda fun to see some great HBO alumni (Ciarian Hinds and James Purefoy re-teaming up, and Dominic West in John Carter) all working again.

— Alan

Wow, Hinds is only 11 years older than me. <goes to look in the mirror>