User blog comment:Mesmermann/Ciarán Hinds playing Mance Rayder!!!!/@comment-210608-20120817204057

Like Werthead my first reaction was great actor. My second was that he is a little older than I pictured Mance, although I was less sure that wasn't just me rather than from objective evidence in the books.

Can he sing?

He was indeed fantastic as Caesar in Rome. He was also very good in Spielberg's Munich. I have been less impressed generally with the crime show he has had a starring role in of recent years; Above Suspicion. I think that is more down to a general lack of ambition on behalf of the program rather than any deficiency on his part though. Glad to see he is getting another good role to sink his teeth into.

Hinds has already been tangentially involved in the show and mentioned here on the wiki; he gave an acting award to season 1 guest star Ryan McKenna back in summer 2011!