Game of Thrones Daario Naharis Has a New Face

Game of Thrones fans have undoubtedly noticed something different about Daenerys Targaryen’s new protector Daario Naharis this season. His hair is shorter and he has some scruffy facial hair going on. He has more muscles. He is a little more chiseled. He looks a little more like a J. Crew model… Overall, he pretty much has a new face and body. If viewers have noticed these differences and think something is weird, it is probably because the actor for Daario Naharis has been replaced.

Fans were a little perplexed at the beginning of season 4 when an entirely new Daario Naharis showed up on the scene. Who exactly was this guy? Where had the former Daario with the super long hair gone? Well, if viewers are wondering, that Daario did not last long on the show, and he is now gone. The 31-year-old actor, Ed Skrein, who played the initial Daario, apparently left Game of Thrones before Season 4 filming began in order to replace Jason Statham in the new Transporter series.

Luckily, the casting directors on Game of Thrones found a Daario Naharis replacement who ended up being sort of OK. Micheal Huisman, a 32-year-old Dutch actor, ended up taking over Skrein’s role as Naharis, picking up right where he left off. However, he did this essentially as if there had been no change in actors. Game of Thrones fans saw right through this, though. Huisman has now become the second Dutch actor to join the Game of Thrones cast. Additionally, Carice van Houten, who plays Melisandre on the show, is also Dutch, and is an extremely popular actress in the Netherlands.

Just for the record, neither former Daario actor Ed Skrein nor the new face of Daario, Michael Huisman, even remotely resemble Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin’s book description of Daario Naharis. In the book, Naharis has a gold mustache, curly blue hair, and a blue, three sectioned beard. He almost seems the way one would describe an anime character. The HBO series Daarios, on the other hand, are both muscular, attractive, mysterious, and witty, with not a blue hair in sight, and there is probably a reason for that.

In Season 4, Episode 3, entitled “Breaker of Chains,” Game of Thrones viewers get to see what is (quite) arguably the best side of Daario when Daenerys, his Queen, is insulted by a slave warrior who urinates in front of her. Daario proceeds to kill him, following up this act by urinating in front of the entire crowd of slave people she is about to speak to. Classy.

The new actor playing Daario said in an interview that he has never spoken to the former actor who played his role about the part, but he plays it according to how he himself thinks that Daario should act and behave. Huisman has said that he believes Daario Naharis is a fun, showy character who is always up for a new challenge and a quick fight, but not ever really a long one. Huisman, who will actually remain the face of Daario for at least a while (hopefully), will be back for Season 5, he said.

By Laura Clark

Sources:
The Daily Beast
TIME