Everyone got to know and love to hate actor Iwan Rheon as the pure, pure evil bastard (literally) Ramsay Bolton during his time on Game of Thrones. But, now, he's going to be stepping into a role that's been promised to be a lot more charming than how we're used to seeing him. Rheon is going to be picking up the leprechaun slack on the Starz hit American Gods when the series returns for its third season.
The official announcement came earlier today via the official American Gods Instagram page for international fans (who can watch the supernatural drama on Amazon Prime). You can take a look at Iwan Rheon looking decidedly less dastardly than he did during his time on Game of Thrones below:
Hmmm. Well, I have to say, I wasn't expecting to not be immediately horrified by memories of Ramsay when spying Iwan Rheon's visage for his American Gods casting, but they did a good job of making him look sort of normal, right? Aside from the fact that he's surrounded by appropriate amounts of leprechaun approved greenery, Rheon actually already looks a bit otherworldly here, with his icy blue eyes and slightly pointed ears. This doesn't appear to be him in character as Liam Doyle, so it would seem that he'll be even more...leprechauny when he debuts on the show.
As you can see from the caption on the Instagram announcement, we can expect Liam Doyle to be a "charming, good-natured" leprechaun, and not only is that a complete 180 for Iwan Rheon compared to his four seasons as murdering psychopath Ramsay on Game of Thrones, but it's also a big change from what American Gods fans have seen when it comes to this particular race of not-always-so-wee folk on the show.
Fans of American Gods got to know leprechaun Mad Sweeney during Season 1 and 2, and he was, well, mad. And, prone to fighting, cursing, drinking and doing a whole bunch of other things besides hoarding / protecting gold. Now that that character won't be returning, we shall see just how Iwan Rheon's pleasant Doyle will fit into the narrative.
While it's worth noting that Rheon hasn't only played bad guys, it will still seem like a nice change of pace, considering that his most notable role was a man who liked to feed people to his dogs. American Gods is the kind of show where pretty much everyone, especially those pesky, tricky, troublesome gods, aren't quite what they seem to be at first, so it will be interesting to see if Doyle stays as charming and good-natured as he is when we first get to know him.
Iwan Rheon won't be the only newcomer to American Gods Season 3, either. He'll be joined by shock rocker Marilyn Manson, Blythe Danner and Lela Loren (Power), who will also be joining the fun on screen this time around, along with yet another new showrunner.
American Gods will be back for Season 3 on Starz, probably at some point in 2020, but until then you can keep up with what else you can watch on the small screen in the new year!
