Names like Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) and Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) built strong cases to be the main antagonist of “Game of Thrones,” but that honor went to another: the Night King. Introduced in the Season 4 episode “Oathkeeper,” this stoic, enigmatic figure commanded armies of the undead and threatened to take over the known world. Richard Brake took on the role until Season 5, before stuntman Vladimir Furdik replaced him for the final three seasons — a move that numerous “GoT” fans didn’t like and weren’t afraid to voice their frustration over online.
When the Night King recast happened, the “Game of Thrones” Reddit community had a lot to say about it. “Personally I think Richard Brake played the character really well in the limited appearences he had. I think his version was a lot better than the one in season 6 (played by Vladimir Furdik),” wrote TorpedoHippo, and other users such as HouseHeisenb3rg and Byzon1 expressed similar feelings in threads of their own, prompting discussion in all corners of the site.
“Yes! Richard Brake was SO much better imo,” commented a-fray in TorpedoHippo’s thread, echoing a sentiment that many shared. Although, not everyone who joined in on these chats was as bothered by the actor swap. For instance, Raidoton replied to HouseHeisenb3rg, “Yes it’s a different actor. But I don’t think he looks better or worse than the previous one,” and Clubtropper added, “I guess I like them both, so the only problem for me is pure continuity,” under TorpedoHippo’s original post.
No matter where you stand on the Night King debate, there’s no denying how cool (pun intended) his overall design is. If anything, it’s too bad we didn’t get to spend more time with the character before his death in Season 8, regardless of who donned the icy blue makeup.