Jason Momoa, Jessica Henwick and Indira Varma are among the very few actors of Asian descent who have been featured in the HBO series "Game of Thrones." The list may not grow any longer as the show is about to end after two seasons.
Recently, casting director Nina Gold, who is known for her work on "Game of Thrones," was in Hong Kong for a BAFTA masterclass at the Academy of Performing Arts. During the event, she talked about racial diversity in casting for films and TV shows.
"We are more aware that to not take diverse casting seriously is uncreative and silly," South China Morning Post quoted Gold as saying during the event. "We're all trying to do castings that reflect real life, and real life is full of all sorts of different people. We've got to have them all."
Gold was also the casting director of the films "The Imitation Game," "The King's Speech" and "The Martian." She said she is interested in working with Asian directors Ang Lee from Taiwan, Zhang Yimou from China and Wong Kar-Wai from Hong Kong.
Thus, it is not unlikely for Gold to work with Zhang Ziyi, who is starred in Wong's film "The Grandmaster" opposite Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Jin Zhang. However, the fantasy of Asian fans to see the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in "Game of Thrones" may forever remain a fantasy.
"Game of Thrones" has been criticized for its lack of diversity in its main cast. Gold explained that the HBO series is based on the books by George R. R. Martin that describe the characters' appearances very specifically.
In 2014, Martin talked about the lack of Asian characters in the HBO series when a fan asked about it in his Live Journal blog. The author explained that Westeros, the fantasy analogue of the British Isles in its world, is a very long way from the Asia analogue and not many Asians were in Yorkish England.
When asked to give some "Game of Thrones" Season 7 spoilers, Gold revealed that Martin, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have yet to write the next lot. She said she does not know yet what is going to happen although she has some theories that she refused to share.
Meanwhile, watch an interview with Ziyi at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival here: