Tanselle the puppeteer may be a small figure in Westeros, but Tanzyn Crawford is proving she doesn’t need encyclopedic Thrones knowledge to bring her to life. In a new interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Crawford explained that Tanselle is a travelling performer who stumbles into Dunk and Egg’s world without knowing princes, monarchies, or dynasties. That freedom, Crawford says, took the pressure off — she could play Tanselle as “just regular,” a character grounded in her own little world.
Quick read
- Tanzyn Crawford plays Tanselle, a puppeteer in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
- She says the character is “just normal” and doesn’t know Westeros politics.
- Crawford felt relieved not to need deep Thrones knowledge.
Tanselle as a grounded outsider
Crawford described Tanselle as a character who exists outside the grand schemes of Westeros: “She’s a puppeteer, this travelling performer that just happens to be in this little town when everything kicks off.”
That outsider perspective makes Tanselle relatable. Crawford added: “She is just normal. She doesn’t know who’s who, who’s a prince, what [a] monarchy is. She’s just moving from place to place and in her own little world. That took the pressure off me to be knowledgeable on everything Thrones because I don’t think she would be. She’s just regular and I love that.”
For fans, it’s a reminder that not every character in Westeros needs to be steeped in dynastic lore. Sometimes, the most compelling figures are those who stumble into history by accident.
Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO
Crawford’s nerves and honesty
Crawford also admitted that joining the cast was intimidating: “I was nervous – not gonna lie. When I came in I was like, ‘Oh gosh this is a lot … of guys’.”
Her honesty underscores the human side of stepping into a franchise as massive as Game of Thrones. By embracing Tanselle’s ordinariness, Crawford found a way to anchor herself — and give audiences a character who feels refreshingly real in a world of dragons and dynasties.
