A game of Who?
Maisie Williams has impressed with her turn as Ashildr in two recent episodes of Doctor Who and it seems more than likely that we'll see her again by the end of the season. But she's not the only actor from Game Of Thrones to show up on Who. There's a grand tradition of both shows casting the same people though often in extremely different roles - and as fans of both shows, we could be happier about it.
Julian Glover
Julian Glover, CBE is an actor with a quite incredible career behind him. He's appeared in everything from James Bond to Blake's 7 and famously played the Nazi Walter Donavan in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. Today he plays the seriously creepy Grand Maester Pycelle in Game Of Thrones, but Who fans know him best for portraying Count Scarlioni in the all-time-best classic tale, "City Of Death" - a suave supervillain who, secretly, was the tentacle-faced Scaroth - last of the Jagaroth.
Faye Marsay
Marsay made quite an impression in last year's Doctor Who Christmas special. She played Shona, the heartbroken-but-loveable everywoman, who got mixed up in the Doctor's adventures with the Dream Crabs. There's been a persistent rumour ever since that she may replace Jenna Coleman as a companion, and Marsay seems keen to return to the show.
Her role in Westeros is less prominent she plays the waif who torments Arya Stark in the House of Black and White in four episodes. She is, however, still alive, so we may see her again.
Liam Cunningham
Call him what you will Ser Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight, the Sexy Badger but everyone loves Liam Cunningham on Game Of Thrones. He is one of the few truly good and noble characters, even if he does ally himself with some pretty rotten sorts. In Doctor Who he played Russian Captain Zhukov in the Mark Gatiss penned episode, Cold War, where he faced off against one very angry Ice Warrior in a submarine.
David Verrey
Verrey appeared in the early Christopher Eccleston two-parter, Aliens Of London and World War Three. He played the constantly farting Joseph Green and secretly a member of the Slitheen an alien family who hide in human skin-suits (complete with zips in their foreheads). Those creatures haven't aged well (they always worked better in spinoff series The Sarah-Jane Adventures), but it's a fun performance. In Thrones he played the High Septon in season two's The Old Gods And The New. He didn't last long, however the Septon was killed in riots at King's Landing.
David Bradley
Bradley plays big time bastard Walder Frey in Game Of Thrones the man responsible for the Red Wedding, let's not forget but he also has two links to Who. In the main series he played Solomon, a loathsome space pirate who lured a load of innocent Silurians to their death in the episode Dinosaurs On A Spaceship. More significantly, however, he was cast as William Hartnell in Mark Gatiss's wonderful TV movie, An Adventure In Space And Time. His performance as the man who played the original Doctor was wonderfully nuanced: cranky and bitter at times, but also joyful, witty and kind. That film works so well because of his performance.
Ross Mullan
Genial monster-man Ross is best known for his fearsome portrayal of a lead White Walker in Game Of Thrones, but he's also played a pair of creepy creatures in Doctor Who. He was Silent in the Matt Smith era, and player the Teller in last year's Time Heist.
Harry Lloyd
An actor that Russell T Davies once tagged as a potential future Doctor is now best known for playing the short-lived Viserys Targaryen in Thrones - the brother of everyone's favourite Khaleesi, and the unhappy owner of a golden crown. In Doctor Who he played douchey schoolboy, Baines, who was killed and taken over by the wicked alien Family in the excellent David Tennant two-parter, Human Nature and The Family Of Blood.
Mark Gatiss
Now this is an obvious one. Gatiss's name is synonymous with Doctor Who. He's penned episodes, novels, the ace An Adventure In Space And Time and, of course, co-produces that other show - Sherlock - with Steven Moffat. But he's also acted in Who. He donned some dubious old age make up for the David Tennant episode, "The Lazarus Experiment", as morally-dubious scientist, Richard Lazarus. His experiments into immortality pay off, and he is miraculously de-aged (cue some quite frightening mad scientist hair) and then transforms into a big CGI scorpion thing. As you do.
In Game Of Thrones he plays Tycho Nestoris - a steely-eyed envoy from the Iron Bank of Braavos who isn't taking any shit from Stannis Baratheon.
Joe Dempsie
Dempsie is well-known for playing Gendry, Robert Baratheon's bastard son and a fugitive in Game Of Thrones. But he also appeared (looking incredibly young) with David Tennant in the fourth season Doctor Who episode, The Doctor's Daughter. He played Cline a soldier fighting the alien Hath on the planet Messaline. The episode is no great shakes, but he puts in a solid performance.
