Small Council: Who was the best Supporting Actor from Game of Thrones season 7?

One of the best things about Game of Thrones is the size and talent of its cast. Today, we honor some of them. Who was the Best Supporting Actor in Game of Thrones season 7?

DAN: Call it the novelty effect, but I’m going to honor guest star Jim Broadbent with the award for Best Supporting Actor in season 7.

Obviously, his pedigree is impeccable. He’s won an Oscar, after all (for his role as literary critic John Bayley in Iris), and has racked up a number of iconic roles during his decades-long career, including as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rogue! and as Professor Slughorn in the Harry Potter movies. But Game of Thrones didn’t cast him for star power. Broadbent is a character actor who stumbled into mild fame, and his wealth of experience comes in handy for playing Archmaester Ebrose, an intellectual who believes in the life of the mind so fervently he’s blind to its limitations.

Ebrose is an antagonist of sorts…but only of sorts. He’s slow to act on Sam’s intel about the White Walkers, but the show doesn’t portray him as stonewalling the investigation for no good reason. Ebrose is an intelligent man who does important work at the Citadel; as he tells Sam in the season premiere, the maesters are “this world’s memory.” It’s not that he’s a bad person; it’s just that he’s used to being methodical and doing things a certain way, so he’s not equipped to act quickly when the need arises. Even though the show doesn’t spend a ton of time developing his perspective, Broadbent has enough gravity as a performer that we understand it all the same.

Like a lot of character actors, Broadbent delights in nuance, and Game of Thrones is smart enough to draw as much as possible from him during his limited screen time. So in addition to giving speeches about the importance of intellectual rigor, we get fun little moments like the one in “Stormborn” when Ebrose looks to Sam for approval of the ponderous title for his new book (A Chronicle of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert I), and Sam’s like, “Eh.”

Broadbent’s work on season 7 is testament to the cliche: “There are no small parts, only small actors.” Props to Broadbent for going big in his own small way.

RAZOR: I’m going to go with another newcomer: Tom Hopper, who played the new Dickon Tarly. My reason: Hopper did more with less. He was only in four episodes, and not for long in each, but his impact was definitely felt.

Of course, one of the reasons for that were the on-going jokes about his name, from Jaime Lannister continually calling him “Rickon” to Bronn cracking up when Dickon corrected him. Also, Dickon gave Bronn the chance to describe his education as “Fancy Lad School,” which should now be the name of any all-male private school going forward.

The other reasons are a little darker. During the Loot Train Battle in “The Spoils of War,” Dickon valiantly saved Jaime Lannister from a dual-wielding Dothraki warrior by plunging his sword through the man’s back. At this moment, you could see a look of respect on Jaime’s face. It makes you wonder whether, if Dickon had escaped the battle like Jaime and Bronn, Jaime would have ever gotten his name wrong again.

Sadly, Dickon didn’t escape, and in an act of foolishness or bravery chose to stand by his father and accept death rather than bend the knee to Daenerys Targaryen. Hopper didn’t have to say a word in his final moments on the show; his facial expressions were all that was needed to convey, and the resolve, he felt standing before Drogon..

There were many fantastic supporting actors in Game of Thrones season 7, and I’m sure a fan-favorite like Kristofer Hivju will win, but Tom Hopper, in my opinion, did the most with the little screentime he had.



COREY: Obviously I’m going to go with Wilf Scolding. The way he gazed at Lyanna Stark, and the skill he needed to wrap that ribbon around her hand…it was all pretty astounding.

But seriously, I have to choose Kristofer Hivju as Tormund.

Hivju ate up his screen time. Never content to be just background scenery, he exuded charisma in every scene. From his jokes about the “big woman” to the horrified look on his face when he thought he was about to be consumed by the undead, he was a gem among gold that is the Game of Thrones cast. Hivju is skilled enough that even despite knowing spoilers, I thought he was about to die when he was swarmed by the wights. And I instantly started to get angry that we’d no longer have Hivju on the show. That’s acting.

Hivju is also one of the most physically realistic actors on the show. Tormund’s fighting style and feats in battle appear natural. Hivju always brings intensity to his fight scenes, and the battle at the frozen lake was no different.

We can only hope that Hivju did not die when the Wall fell, and that we’ll get to see the wildling leader chew up scenery and spit it out during season 8. And marry Brienne. Please give us that gift.

BROOKE: My pick is James Faulkner for his portrayal of the flinty Randyll Tarly. The only thing we knew about Randyll going into season 7 was that he was a massive p***k to his son Samwell. We heard Sam tell the story of the Hobson’s Choice his father gave him: either join the Night’s Watch or be the victim of a staged hunting accident. Then we saw Randyll in action in “Blood of My Blood,” where his bitter contempt for his son was on full display. Season 7’s Randyll was still cold and rigid, but Faulkner imbued his character with enough humanity to merit some grudging respect.

Cersei’s specious account of Daenerys’ atrocities in Essos did not convince Randyll to abandon his pledge to House Tyrell; he was more receptive to Jaime’s personal and reasonable appeal, but had the backbone to tell him what he thought of the Lannisters’ ignoble tactics. Clearly Randyll held himself to certain standards and judged others for not living up to them. However cruel and misguided his disdain for Sam was, at least Randyll viewed everyone through the same stringent lens and deemed not just his eldest son, but most people, unworthy.

Randyll proved to be a steely asset to the Lannisters, leading them to victory at Highgarden, supervising the transport of the Tryell gold to King’s Landing without incident, and fighting in the doomed loot train battle. But the character’s shining moment came in “Eastwatch,” when he refused to bend the knee to Dany. There he proved that he did not just talk the talk, but chose death over abandoning his oath to Cersei — reluctantly given though it was — and in his eyes, betraying Westeros. Somehow Faulkner was able to evoke empathy for his profoundly unlikable character by conveying Randyll’s sense of honor through his stoic mien.

That stoicism cracked when Dickon also chose to die. Faulkner showed Randyll’s initial shock and dismay at his son’s decision, followed by resignation and finally pride when Dickon refused to be dissuaded. (Whether Dickon’s choice of death over capitulation was motivated by his own code of ethics or by his desire to please his judgmental and overbearing father is another issue.)

I certainly wept no tears over the elder Tarly’s demise, but because of Faulkner’s performance, I came to understand Randyll as more than a one-dimensional tyrant. Like most of the characters in Game of Thrones, Randyll Tarly lived in a gray area, and in only a handful of scenes, Faulkner was able to shed some light into what made him tick.