This might sound like a dumb question since you've reviewed just about every actor's performances from Peter Dinklage to Random Night Watch guy...but what did you think of Sean Bean and Mark Addy as Ned and Robert?
It’s not dumb, I realized I barely talk about them.
I was actually rewatching season 1 last night, remembering how great it was, and how promising this series looked. So, my mind is fresh on it. haha
I think Sean Bean was perfect for the role. They definitely needed a leading actor to start the show, and bring in some viewers, and they chose wisely. I think Bean is a good actor, who makes justice to his characters, and has a particular presence and personality to give relevance to them. The movies usually increase their quality when his character dies. Not because they get rid of him, but because his death scenes are most of the time memorable. As Ned I think he didn’t have much challenges, but then again, the character was quite different from the roles he’s used to play. He usually plays the bad guy, and with incredible ease, so this was, in a way, a different area for him to explore. I think he had good chemistry with the actors he worked, and particularly with the younger actors. He embodied the father figure, the warrior, the lord, and the husband perfectly. And I have no complaints about his acting in this show really.
Mark Addy on the other hand over did it some times. I think the role suited him, and he certainly added that loud and obnoxious ways of the character. He embodied the warrior King, not prepared to be a political leader, but a war leader. He gave at times, good timing and depth to the character, and certainly presented a lot of chemistry with Sean Bean, thing that was central to their story. On the other hand I think he overacted certain traits of the role, in a few scenes, and particularly he didn't work that well with Lena Headey. Their scenes lacked of confidence from the actors, and seemed not credible, from both sides. The slapping scene, by Ned's bed, was particularly bad. However in general, I think he was suited for the role, gave his own touch of comic relief to the scenes, and played the decadent and lost in power and wine King, pretty well.
