I love reading the character analyses on Winter is Coming. You guys rock.

However wicked Cersei is, GRRM is still able to convey her vulnerability to the reader and garner empathy for her. I hope Lena and the script bring that across. Actually, I think that's critical to the success of the project. One-dimensional villains are so uninspiring.

Agree. That is the great thing about GRRM's books, the depth of the characters, even minor ones. I love that even a "big bad-ass" character has backstory. It sounds like Conan will fully realize the part.

Think how many times otherwise great productions have been spoiled by shallow acting in small but critical roles. I'm really happy that casting is being treated so seriously, and that such good, perceptive decisions are being made.

Great actor for this role! It's a one-dimensional big badass role (unlike Sandor), but should be fun, and presence will count for a lot.

McCann (Sandor, not Gregor) is 6'6" according to IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564920/

IMO need more "people of color" in ASOIAF. Why should white-skinned people have all the cool fantasy roles?? Nothing "Eurocentric" about fantasy worlds.

Dany is a VERY important role, and the actress must be convincing. I didn't see any evidence that Cassie Howarth has a clue about what a queen is. Check out Helen Mirren's performance in The Queen. Howarth is adorably cute and pretty, but ... the voice of command? I don't see any hope of it. A pretty face is not the same as ethereal beauty either. Dany could be far less conventionally beautiful if she's got the spirit and talent to bring across the character in all of its development and emerging power. Few actors understand what power and presence mean. I'd like to see an actress (ooh, I'm supposed to say "actor" these days, sounds weird to me) who has some traditional Shakespeare chops in that role.

I'm not an actor or involved in theater, but I always thought that auditions fulfill special needs, and should not be evaluated as if they are the same as a fully-realized performance. Casting agents and directors are looking for specific (sometimes ineffable) qualities in an audition tape, and IMO it's silly to expect that the actor is going to know exactly the tone/quality/effect that the director is looking for. You want someone who shows evidence of meeting the necessary physical/personal qualities (and consider the awesome power of makeup artists to take away a few years) and who shows /promise/ of the requisite depth, presence, range, and ensemble chemistry to suit the role. That being said, too bad Tamzin Merchant didn't work out, she has that ethereal quality which is essential to the role: consider that Daenerys is one of the few (future) magic-wielders in the series. I think Charlotte has a wonderful voice, and if she's asked to push her performance one way or another, she'd be able to pull it off very well. So I think it's a mistake to invest too much judgment from the peanut gallery when assessing an audition tape.