Breaking Down The New "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" Cast & Their Characters!

Right on the heels of the premiere of Season 2 of “House of the Dragon”, another “Game of Thrones” spinoff has gotten underway – production of the prequel series “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” has started across the Pond, and with it, naturally, a spate of new casting announcements!

Up until yesterday, we only knew of 2 castmembers – Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell as the main characters of the series, Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg (colloquially known as “Dunk and Egg”). Now, we have learned of 5 new actors added to the roster and their roles in the series, and as your resident World of Ice and Fire nerd, I’m here to break it all down for you!

First things first though – you can read more about the series in general here and here, but as a quick recap: "AKot7K" is a (surprise! unfinished) series of novellas by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin that takes place about about 90 years before the events of “GoT” and follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire Egg as they travel around Westeros meeting all kinds of colorful characters. The first novella in the series, “The Hedge Knight” (which Season 1 of the TV adaptation will be covering), involves Dunk and Egg attending a tourney at Ashford Meadow (in the Reach – Tyrell territory) where Dunk hopes to compete and make some coin. Things go awry, though, as they are wont to do, when those darn Targaryens show up. About 3/4 of the way through, it’s revealed that (spoiler alert!) Egg is actually Prince Aegon Targaryen, the future King Aegon V.

(For those looking for a more tangible connection to “Game of Thrones”, Egg is the younger brother of Maester Aemon, who Jon Snow met when he went to the Wall. As he’s dying, he’s says, “Egg, I dreamed I was old.” Yes, he is referring to THIS Egg! It’s unlikely we’ll see him in “AKot7K” though, as he never appears in these books.)

So, with that out of the way, let’s take a look at the new castmembers and who they will be playing!

1. Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen

Prince Maekar is the fourth son of the current ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, King Daeron II, and Egg’s father. He has the typical Targaryen look of silver hair and purple eyes, and by all accounts he is a strong athlete, though he attends the Ashford Tourney not to compete himself but to watch two of his sons do so. You might recognize Sam Spruell from his recent stint in the latest (and greatest, imo) season of “Fargo”, in which he plays the creepy time-jumper Ole Munch. Though he isn’t as powerfully built as Maekar is reported to be, I can definitely see him embodying a prickly, dour-faced Targaryen prince. And judging by the photo above, which was taken on June 19, his hair has been dyed Targ blond!

2. Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen

Nicknamed “Brightflame” due to his obsession with fire and belief that he is a dragon in human form(!), Prince Aerion is the second son of Prince Maekar (thus being the grandson of the King and older brother of Egg) and is definitely one of those unstable Targs. He is completely unhinged and fully lets his freak flag fly at the Ashford Tourney, much to Maekar’s displeasure. Egg, in particular, can’t stand him. Finn Bennett recently had a significant role in the latest season of “True Detective” as the put-upon police officer Peter Prior, and quite honestly he is the very image that GRRM paints of Aerion in the books.

3. Bertie Carvel as Baelor Targaryen

Baelor, better known as “Breakspear”, is the older brother of Maekar and eldest son of King Daeron II (and Egg’s uncle), making him the Crown Prince and heir of the Seven Kingdoms; he is also Hand of the King. Though a Targaryen, his looks favor his Dornish mother, as instead of the typical Targ silver hair he has brown hair. Baelor is basically the epitome of the gallant knight, a proven warrior and honorable man. Baelor turns out to be a valuable ally to Dunk during the Ashford Tourney. You’ve recently seen Bertie Carvel in projects like “The Crown” as Tony Blair and Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of MacBeth as Banquo. I can totally see him as an aging but still forceful and courtly prince.

4. Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon

Ser Lyonel, known as “The Laughing Storm” due to his habit of IBOL-ing at his opponents, is the heir of Storm’s End and a very typical Baratheon – dark hair and powerfully built (an ancestor of King Robert Baratheon, natch!). Lyonel plays a big part in Duncan’s story, not just in this book but in the future beyond the current "AKot7K" stories. And that’s about all I can say! Daniel Ings, whom you’ve recently seen in Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen” on Netflix and in Marvel’s The Marvels, looks every bit a Baratheon knight, especially in his role in MGM+’s “The Winter King”!

5. Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle

Tanselle is a Dornish puppeteer who entertains the attendees of the Ashford Tourney. Dunk takes a liking to her immediately, not just because she’s super cute but she is also super tall – earning her the nickname “Tanselle Too-Tall” – which is relevant to his interests because he is also very tall (he often thinks to himself "Tanselle Too-Tall, but not too tall for me."). She plays a big role in the events of the Tourney and Dunk’s plot in the story, but I don’t want to give anything away! Tanzyn Crawford (who is 5’11” to Peter Claffey’s 6’3”) recently appeared in Apple TV+’s “Servant” and Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things”. She certainly fits the bill physically as a tall Woman of Color, but I am very anxious to see the chemistry between her and Claffey!

Now, like any respectable “Game of Thrones” story, there are a ton more characters in this one that I expect to see casting announcements for any day now – like Lord Ashford, Prince Daeron The Drunken, Humfrey Hardyng, the Fossoway Cousins, etc. – so stay tuned!