Game of Thrones: Meet Natalie Dormer, Carice van Houten and All the New Cast Members

Credit: HBO

Game of Thrones season 2 premieres this Sunday, April 1

The much anticipated second season of Game of Thrones will come with a host of new characters

Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 1 and it’s packed solid with brand new characters. We want to help you keep everyone straight and introduce you to the new actors. Meet the new cast of characters. Very mild spoilers ahead.

Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’Ghar). Wlaschiha speaks German, English, French, Russian and Italian and has appeared in a ton of German TV shows. He also appeared in Valkyrie and The Sarah Jane Adventures. His character, Jaqun H’Ghar is a mysterious prisoner who meets Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) while she’s disguised as a boy, heading to the Wall.

Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon) played Thomas Jefferson in the miniseries John Adams and Merlin in the film King Arthur. Stannis Baratheon is the brother of the late King Robert and one of the other claimants to the throne, Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony). He’s a tough man and not very well liked. He’s also under the influence of our next character.

Carice van Houten (Melisandre). This actress from the Netherlands has appeared in films like Valkyrie and Black Death. Her character is one of the most highly anticipated of the season. She plays Melisandre, the red priestess. Though she doesn’t have red eyes like she does in the book, she’s plenty terrifying.

Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) is a relative newcomer who appeared in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassas. Her character Brienne is an honorable female fighter who is constantly mocked for her manliness. She’s another fan favorite. She’s also going to have considerable makeup work. Christie is really pretty and Brienne isn’t.

Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) is an Irish actor who has appeared in scores of films like War Horse and Clash of the Titans. He plays Davos, otherwise known as “the onion knight.” He’s a former smuggler who was knighted by Stannis.

Rose Leslie (Ygritte) played Gwen Dawson in the wildly popular Downton Abbey. She’ll be playing Ygritte, a wilding woman who causes trouble for Jon Snow (Kit Harington) on the other side of the wall.

Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell) needs little introduction. She played Anne Boleyn in The Tudors and appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger. She’s portraying Margaery Tyrell, the daughter of Mace Tyrell. We can’t really tell you much more than that without spoiling things, but she’s very important to the story.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing? Let us know, because, as you know, war is coming.