Curtain Call: Jonathan Pryce 

that, when announced, you think “Holy [string of obscenities], we got THEM?!” Actors the fans chose and hoped for, or performers so amazingly gifted there is little dissent even in a fandom likes ours that thrives on debating every little thing. The dream castings.

Heading into season 5, we were lucky enough to get two of those castings. Alexander Siddig as Doran Martell was one. And the other was Jonathan Pryce, taking on the role of the High Sparrow, the man who would outplay Cersei Lannister…for a time. The High Sparrow’s faith and cunning carried him for two eventful seasons of

but in the end, the Lioness Queen reigned supreme, annihilating all her enemies including the High Sparrow in the season 6 finale.

It seems as though it was just yesterday that Pryce’s casting was announced, along with several others, 

I was still reeling from the high of having Siddig in the cast, when the video finished up with Pryce, an actor I’ve been a huge fan of for twenty years.

To be honest, I hadn’t invested much thought or emotion into High Sparrow’s onscreen portrayal before then. He was Cersei’s ascetic nemesis throughout the later books in the ASOIAF series. But he’s not the most exciting character, is he? Obnoxiously pious, underestimated and sly in a quiet fashion, even in print we can see her fall coming before Cersei does. He’s not the sexy sort of villain you can root for. He’s the face of the Westerosi Inquisition, and we’re left shaking our heads at Cersei’s folly in empowering the movement and this man.

But putting Jonathan Pryce in the role? You have my full attention. Now I’m interested,

that made Pryce a favorite (though the Terry Gilliam surrealist cult classic is a great movie). It wasn’t his part as Governor Swann in the

. It wasn’t even his wonderful turn as Lytton Strachey in one of my favorite movies,

No, my love for Jonathan Pryce stems from my other nerdy passion in life: musical theater. Like most actors from the UK, he has a strong background in stage performance with plenty of Shakespeare under his belt, and he picked up a Tony Award in 1977 for his work on the contemporary play 

. Pryce returned to the stage in the 1990’s, carving out a corner for himself as a musical leading man. Originating the role of the Engineer in

, he was gloriously obscene, sharp-edged and hilarious, shimmying and deal-making his way to another Tony Award. He was Guido in

 In 1996, Pryce appeared alongside Madonna in the big screen version of

 singing as Juan Peron. In every musical role, he was different and delightful, but in every character, there was a thread of intelligence and wit as well.

Over the decades, Pryce bounced between the stage and screen, building up a résumé any actor would envy. In recent years, he’s developed a knack for playing men of power, holy men and leaders who were both. And so it’s no surprise that when he found his way to

it was in the shape of the High Sparrow, a man with a powerful voice of his own, and the will to lead the people.

From the beginning of his time on the show, Pryce’s nameless sparrow was something of a paradox, humble but with the self-possession of the highborn men and women he faced. The cast of

stepped up their game whenever they faced the High Sparrow, with Lena Headey, Natalie Dormer, Diana Rigg, and Dean-Charles Chapman all doing some of their best work while tangling with the wily holy man.

My favorite episode for the High Sparrow is “The Gift,” the season 5 episode where we see him challenge the Queen of Thorns and finally arrest Cersei. Pryce and Rigg are a dream pairing, and many were waiting for the tart-tongued Olenna Tyrell to take on the prim High Sparrow. You have to love that touch of humor when each acknowledges their physical failings before getting down to business.

But when he leaves the Queen of Thorns wordless, her threats worthless, it’s a stark (no pun intended) realization: the power didn’t lay where we had been assuming it did all along. “You are the few, we are the many. And when the many stop fearing the few…”

The Tyrells suffer, but Cersei has her own nasty fall shortly thereafter. The High Sparrow draws Cersei in slowly before revealing that Lancel has revealed her own sins to the Faith. She may be the king’s mother and a former queen consort but that’s meaningless to the High Sparrow. The cold light, that touch of malice in his eyes as he wins- if you love Cersei, you’ll want to kill him for it. If you hate Cersei, you’ll be cheering him on. Either way, Jonathan Pryce was brilliant.

He brought his charismatic and focused performance to every episode he was in, until the last. It would have been easy to go over the top with the character, but Pryce was in control, delivering a subtle and smart take on the role. Even in the sept of Baelor, as Margaery warned him that Cersei was up to something, you could see the slight flickers of doubt creep in as he brushed them aside and pushed onward. And at the very end, well- a picture says a thousand words.

Pryce was everything I could have hoped for in a High Sparrow. He was the dream casting I never considered, and though King’s Landing will be better off without the Sparrows, certainly

will be poorer for not having Jonathan Pryce among the cast anymore.

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Oh my god!! Didn’t know he was in ”Evita” and I watched that movie dozens of time…..

Fantastic actor, loved every scene he was in. His scene with Olenna and Cersei in S4 were simply outstanding.

I’m really going to miss Mr. Pryce. I didn’t care much about the HS in the books, but my, oh my, the character was really something else in the show, thanks to such an amazing performance.

A lot of people didn’t like the HS, for being a fanatic or whatever, but I really enjoyed his scenes. It was a real pleasure to have Jonathan Pryce in the show.

He was awesome as Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes!

I’ve been continually amazed by his ability to make me like the High Sparrow every now and then, even though he’s quite fundamentalistic. Lovely, calm, confident performance.

He was great on GoT and Brazil is definitely one of the best movies of all time. I really need to watch it again.

That scene with Margaery this season where he talked about his backstory, you could tell the directors and crew know how good he is from the way the camera focused on him.

Man, I’ll miss this guy. I hate Cersei (though Lena is amazing at it) so I was glad when he schooled her, thought I love the Tyrell’s, so as with most good GoT characters everything is always grey.

Only person I’ll miss nearly as much as Natalie. Pryce had hella presence. Definitely see him when reading the books now.

And I totally agree about the Holy Shit nature of his casting. Loved him in

. Very glad he gave the show a second chance. Definitely a big get on par with Bean and Dance. Really sad to see him go, but will be forever grateful to have had him. He really lent gravitas and prestige to a show with tons, and highhandedly gave it more which is no small task. Really gonna miss him, but hell of a run; and that final non-verbal acting, hell of a way to go!

I thought it was too funny he didn’t turn out to be Howland Reed, like my daughter insisted. We butted heads on this issue. Hahaha He wss a great actor and will be missed.

An incredible performance all the way from the slums of KL when Cersei seeks for him to his final moment when he realises that the game is over!

I will take Jonathan Pryce any and every way I can get him and I loved him as the High Sparrow. The power and emotion he displays in his facial expressions alone pull me into his scenes 100%. When he confronts and arrests Cersei…YES! I could watch that over and over again. He will be sorely missed! Thank you for your amazing work, Mr. Pryce!

I’m a huge (HUGE!!!) James Bond fan and Tomorrow Never Dies was the first one I ever saw, back when I was 12 or 13, so just like Pierce Brosnan became my template for Bond, Jonathan Price was the template for a Bond villain. I was a fan of his ever since and was incredibly thrilled when he was announced as High Sparrow. And his performance turned out wonderful! He will be missed on the show!

Many people hated the High Sparrow, but I loved him and every scene he was a part of. An amazing portrayal by an amazing actor. I think we can all agree that he was one of the top 5 best actors of Game of Thrones. Farewell Mr. Pryce, you will be terribly missed.

One of the greatest actors alive. He IS the High Sparrow in my eyes, he wholly inhabited that character. Loved him ever since I saw “Brazil” all those years ago. He’s always a joy to watch. So many good movies… Baron Munchausen, the Pirates+Carribean series, Glengarry Glen Ross… and he’s in the upcoming series Taboo with Tom Hardy which looks bloody awesome!

Beautifully written, Sue. One can see you truly were a fan. Mr. Pryce played his role almost too well. He did to the audience what the HS did to Cersei – made you believe he was pious, fair and harmless in his potato sack dress and bare feet, as he reeled you in closer and closer for the final catch. He made the viewer question at first whether or not the HS was sincere, but gradually the HS’s delight in overcoming the high-born showed with every smirk and broken promise. Your depiction of him as the face of the Westeroi Inquisition is pinpoint perfect. That’s what it was, an inquisition. Such a fate as he got was just what he deserved. Too bad he took Margaery with him to his doom. Farewell, Mr. Pryce – your performance was excellent but your character needed to go.

I’ve been continually amazed by his ability to make me like the High Sparrow every now and then, even though he’s quite fundamentalistic.

root for the High Sparrow. While I cringed at the Faith’s persecution based on their ideals of morality, I think his mission to take down the privilege class a few pegs was pretty dynamic to watch. He was the perfect foil for Cersei, especially since he was a “monster” she created. This show is full of dynamite actors but in the presence of Pryce, everyone stepped up their game. That final scene between Pryce and Natalie Dormer was so tense, that final eye lock between them, it was magic.

There was always thought to be an ulterior motive simmering underneath but seeing as he met an explosive fate, maybe not. Maybe his intentions purely rested on raising up those condemned to being nothing more than the subjects, while reminding the upper crust that they are no better, or more deserving, than those they walk on.

I loved his performance. While religious zealots are usually impossible to champion, and it could get heavy handed even on this show, to know it was the High Sparrow that finally made Cersei slip into madness is the best gift this entire story line could give. You can bet your ass the people of Kings Landing, as well as noble houses throughout Westeros, are going to be wishing the High Sparrow was still around. What has been unleashed with the Faith’s demise is ten times scarier than anything they dished out.

Awesome role played by Johnathon. GOT casting continues to be almost perfect.Lost count of the characters that have improved from their book roles.

The “barefoot zealot”…his presence was mesmerizing regardless of whether or not you liked the HS. Quite a coup to grab an actor like Pryce for the role of the HS. If only he had listened to Queen Margaery…

Finally, thanks to everyone at WOTW for turning out these Curtain Calls. All were sincere tributes to these actors.

Ser Pryce, I despised your character with a furious passion, like very few other fictional characters, and that is one of the best compliment I could do for your amazing work in GoT !

And thank you for all the other characters you’ve played through your carreer. You are a tremendous actor !

Before GOT, I knew Jonathan Pryce from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, as Governor Swann, and from The Brothers Grimm, as a villainous French General. I greatly enjoyed his performances in those movies, and so when I heard he was cast as the High Sparrow, I was really excited. And he did not disappoint.

The High Sparrow was a very different kind of villain than we’ve seen in GOT. He wasn’t a crazed psychopath (like Joffrey or Ramsay), or a stern, power-hungry patriarch (like Tywin, Roose, or Walder). He was a calm, pious man, who genuinely believed in the righteousness of his cause, but still took visible pleasure in tearing down the rich and powerful (perhaps due to an unprivileged upbringing).

It was unclear at first what we should think of this man. He was genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of the common folk, unlike Cersei, but as the show went on, his true nature became more clear. And Pryce played it perfectly – both the kind, benevolent priest, and the smug schemer.

Thank you very much, Jonathan, for your exceptional performance.

I remember watching that Season 5 casting video back in the summer of 2014 and being stunned that

had managed to book Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow. That shock only lasted as long as it took for that turned to glee – which was about three seconds. What else can I say about him that Sue hasn’t already articulated so wonderfully? The man is a legend.

The introduction of the High Sparrow in the episode that bears his name was fairly innocuous by design, but even if you somehow didn’t know about Pryce and his remarkable talents, his calm and charisma set him up to become a major player. For as antagonistic as their characters would become, he and Lena Headey worked extraordinarily extremely well in all of their scenes together. To be fair, Pryce worked well with every actor he was paired with – he raised the level of the playing field, but he never overshadowed his co-stars. That’s a testament to his experience and understanding of what the scene required of him – and his prodigious talent, of course.

From the moment Pryce was cast, I had dearly hoped that the writers would put him in a scene with Diana Rigg. When it came to pass, it was everything I had hoped it would be. Watching two legendary actors sizing one another up in that context is a luxury few shows other than

can give us (in an episode called “The Gift”, that scene was truly a gift to the fans). But as great as the High Sparrow’s conversation with the Queen of Thorns was, however, it couldn’t eclipse the scene in which the High Sparrow reveals his true plans for Cersei. Pryce’s performance as he digs into that rich, wonderfully written monologue never ceases to amaze me – the combination of his calm menace and the searing fanaticism dancing in his eyes made for an absolutely mesmerizing image.

During the season, I read some complaints from people who were tired of the High Sparrow dominating the proceedings in King’s Landing and giving so many speeches. While I can understand the sentiment of wanting to wrap up the Faith Militant storyline, I personally found that criticism utterly absurd. I will never get tired of watching Jonathan Pryce deliver speeches. I would happily watch him read the phonebook. I would pay money to watch him

Then, of course, there was the High Sparrow’s origin story in “Book of the Stranger”. I’d always been curious to learn more about where this man came from (no, I ever believed the tinfoil that he was Howland Reed in disguise). It was fascinating to watch a man who was clearly still so driven by power explain how he had renounced worldly possessions and desires. I love the way that the camera holds on Pryce almost the entire time (with a few brief cutaways to Natalie Dormer), and slowly pushes in on his face as he delivers those words. It’s a perfect example of a director recognizing the brilliance of the actor he’s working with, and allowing him to carry the audience through the scene.

Ultimately, I’m very glad that the High Sparrow got his comeuppance, but I’ll miss Pryce greatly. In the hands of a lesser actor, such a fanatical and imperious zealot could have bordered on insufferable. In Pryce’s hands, he was never anything less than captivating, and frequently transcendent.

Bryan Cogman certainly seems to agree – he proclaimed that Pryce is his favorite actor in a lovely tribute he posted on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/b_cogman/status/748219178977361920 I’m glad that he got the opportunity to work with and write for one of his idols, and that we as audience members got to witness the fruits of that collaboration. When

wraps, Jonathan Pryce will undoubtedly stand as one of the best actors that we will ever have been privileged enough to watch perform on the show. All the best to him going forward.

He’s such a wonderful, versatile actor. I first encountered him as the voice of Zarniwoop in the original BBC Radio version of

. He did a bang-up job as the High Sparrow and will be greatly missed. Who will speak for the smallfolk of Westeros now?

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