One of Game of Thrones’ most memorable villains is heading to another iconic franchise. Jonathan Pryce, who played the High Sparrow in HBO’s fantasy epic, has officially joined Sky’s upcoming television adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, taking on one of the story’s most important roles.
The casting is part of a major expansion of the ensemble as production gets underway on the highly anticipated eight-episode series based on Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millennium novels.
Quick read:
- Jonathan Pryce joins The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
- He will play patriarch Henrik Vanger.
- Filming is underway in Sweden and Lithuania.
Jonathan Pryce will play Henrik Vanger
According to Variety, Pryce has been cast as Henrik Vanger, the wealthy industrialist whose family’s decades-old mystery sets the entire story in motion.
In Larsson’s novel, Henrik recruits journalist Mikael Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his niece Harriet Vanger, who vanished more than 30 years earlier from the family’s secluded island estate.
Pryce follows in the footsteps of Christopher Plummer, who portrayed Henrik in David Fincher’s 2011 film adaptation starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.
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The new series stars:
- David Oyelowo as Mikael Blomkvist
- Viola Prettejohn as Lisbeth Salander
HBO
The reboot has assembled a huge cast
Pryce joins a growing ensemble that includes:
- James D’Arcy as Martin Vanger
- Lena Olin as Isabella Vanger
- Camille Cottin as Erika Berger
- Alun Armstrong as Harald Vanger
- Jessica Raine as Cecilia Vanger
- Paul Ready as Birger Vanger
Sky has also confirmed that filming is already underway in Sweden and Lithuania.
Unlike previous adaptations, the new series will bring the story into the modern day while retaining the core mystery surrounding Harriet Vanger’s disappearance. Sky says the adaptation will explore themes of power, secrecy, and misogyny in today’s increasingly connected digital world.
The project comes from Left Bank Pictures, the studio behind The Crown, and will run for eight episodes.
For Game of Thrones fans, the role is another major addition to Pryce’s already impressive post-Westeros résumé, which includes Slow Horses, The Two Popes, 3 Body Problem, and more. This time, however, he’ll be at the center of one of crime fiction’s most famous mysteries.
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