‘A Knight of Seven Kingdoms’ Actress Responds to Racial Backlash About Her Role

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text Fandom reaction to HBO ‘s debut season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has been nearly universally positive. But there’s one ugly element of the show’s praise that’s largely flown under the radar. Late in the six-episode-season’s run, a narrative began to take hold on social media that the show was doing well because it was “non-woke” compared to certain other recent fantasy and sci-fi shows because it centers on two white male characters, Dunk and Egg (played by Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell), both of whom are portrayed in a very positive and heroic light. One part of the show that didn’t align with this viewpoint was the casting of Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle, a traveling performer from Dorne who charms Dunk, and some on social media have griped about the actress being in the show. Related Stories TV John Oliver Reacts to HBO's Possible New "Business Daddy" Paramount: "How the F*** Do I Get Out of This?" TV 'Industry's' Kit Harington Knows That Henry Muck Is Always Going to Be Okay Talking to Wonderland magazine , the Australian actress addressed the issue for the first time. “It was intimidating to step into something that people are so connected to, love so much and have a lot of opinions about,” Crawford said. “I definitely did get some negativity around race, but at the end of the day, I’m employed — and I’m following my dreams.” She added that saga creator George R.R. Martin assured her she was precisely what he imagined when he wrote the character in his novella, The Hedge Knight . “[Martin told me] ‘you’re exactly what I pictured [for Tanselle]’,” Crawford said. “The beauty of Tanselle in this series is she’s a softer outlet. The rest of the show is very manly, quite harsh and brutal. I think she’s self-confident ...