User blog:Ausir/Casting news: Yara Greyjoy, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Jaqen H’ghar

More exciting season 2 casting news abound! This time, the rumors of Gemma Whelan being cast as Yara Greyjoy have been confirmed, Nonso Anozie has been cast as Xaro Xhoan Daxos and Jaqen H’ghar will be portrayed by Tom Wlaschiha.

Gemma Whelan is a British actress and comedian who has appeared in films such as Gulliver's Travels and The Wolfman. In 2010 she won the Funny Women Variety Act at the Leicester Square Theatre for her character of Chastity Butterworth.

Yara Greyjoy (who is named Asha in the books, but was renamed to avoid confusion with Osha) is Theon Greyjoy's elder sister and his only surviving sibling; his two older brothers were killed during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Whilst Theon has been a ward and hostage of the Starks to guarantee his father's good behaviour, Yara has been raised at the Greyjoy stronghold of Pyke. She is a fierce warrior and commands her own longship, to the disquiet of some of the ironborn who hold that women should not fight or command men in battle.

Nonso Anozie is a British actor who has appeared in films including The Last Legion, Atonement, RocknRolla, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and Conan the Barbarian. On stage, he is noted for being one of the youngest actors to portray King Lear and won the Ian Charleson Award in 2005 for his portrayal of Othello.

His character, Xaro Xhoan Daxos is a powerful merchant prince of the great city of Qarth, located far to the south of the Dothraki sea, beyond a forbidding wasteland. He is a member of an influential merchant cartel and has many friends amongst the rulers of the city.

Tom Wlaschiha is a German actor who has appeared in many German movies and TV shows, as well as in a few Hollywood movies, such as Enemy at the Gates, Munich and Valkyrie.

Jaqen H’ghar is one of the criminals from the dungeons of King's Landing that are being taken by Yoren to the Wall along with Arya Stark. In the book, he is described as “slender and fine-featured, half of his hair is red and the other half is white.” He is a foreigner from one of the Free Cities, so the actor's German accent will likely come into use.

While I'm excited about the second season and the actors seem like they fit their roles pretty well, I doubt I'll ever get used to Theon's sister's name change. I'm pretty sure I'll still keep calling her "Asha".