We don’t know who Ian McShane is playing on next spring’s sixth season of “Game of Thrones,” but we now know Max Von Sydow has taken over the role of Bran Stark’s tutor, The Three-Eyed Raven.
The role was played at the end of season four by Struan Rodger (“Rumpole of the Bailey,” “A.D.: The Bible Continues”).
Von Sydow’s big-screen career is anchored on one end by Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 Chess Deathmatch “Det sjunde inseglet” and on the other by J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars” movie due out this December. In between he was Jesus in 1965’s “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” Father Merrin in 1973’s “The Exorcist,” Joubert in 1975’s “Three Days of the Condor,” Captain Shroeder in 1976’s “Voyage of the Damned,” Ming The Merciless in 1980’s “Flash Gordon,” King Osric in 1982’s “Conan The Barbarian,” Brewmaster Smith in 1983’s “Strange Brew,” Ernst Stavros Blofeld in 1983’s “Never Say Never Again,” Dr. Kynes in 1984’s “Dune,” Dr. Ingham in 1990’s “Awakenings,” Leland Gaunt in 1993’s “Needful Things,” Judge Fargo in “Judge Dredd,” and Lamar Burgess in 2002’s “Minority Report,”
And Von Sydow had the best line in 1985’s “Hannah and Her Sisters”:
HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo revealed last week that the “Thrones” showrunners currently expect the show’s eighth season will be its last.
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