Game of Thrones season 7's Jim Broadbent is playing an archmaester - and it could be a significant role

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We already knew that Jim Broadbent had been cast in Game of Thrones season 7 (and if you didn’t, now you do!) but we could only guess at who - or what - he might be playing. Thankfully for us (not so much for HBO bosses), Broadbent has revealed details about his character – and it sounds like he has a significant role to play.

Speaking to ScreenCrush, Broadbent let slip that he is going to be “[A] maester, an archmaester. I’m an old professor character.” There’s been plenty of Westerosi masters before but we’ve never laid eyes on the main archmaester, and Broadbent even mentioned that he’ll be sharing scenes with Samwell Tarly.

Broadbent went on to say just how involved he is in the upcoming season, “I did five episodes. I did sort of one major scene in each episode.” Now, I don’t think Jim Broadbent would say he’s in a major scene unless he’s actually in one, so he could be the catalyst for Sam’s ascension to maester, as well as providing heaps of exposition for all of the mysterious goings-on north of the Wall. I mean, dammit, we deserve to know something after seven years!

There’s even been fan speculation that Broadbent will be playing a key role from the books: Maester Marwyn. Without getting into spoiler-territory, Marwyn is a smart guy, to put it mildly. He’ll certainly be able to help out plenty of characters with his knowledge bank...

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.