Roy Dotrice, who played Game of Thrones character Hallyne the Pyromancer died at the age of 94. He will also be remembered as Leopold Mozart in 1984 movie called Amadeus which won an Oscar. His family issued a statement to BBC that said:
“Roy died peacefully on Monday, October 16 in his London home surrounded by family, including his three daughters, grandchildren and great-grandson.”
The actor’s career lasted for decades, and he has won numerous awards including a Tony Award, a BAFTA and a Drama Desk Award. Moreover, his role, no matter how big or small in the most popular show in the world, Game of Thrones, will leave a trace.
Dotrice appeared in the second season of the HBO’s show as Hallyne the Pyromancer for two episodes, but those who purchased George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire audiobooks should know that Dotrice was the one narrating them. He holds the Guinness World Record for the highest number of characters voiced by one actor in an audiobook.
This is truly an admiring accomplishment as he voiced 224 characters in the first novel of the series called A Game of Thrones. The audiobook lasts for 33 hours. For those who are not familiar with Dotrice’s work, he also narrated storybook adaptations for Disney Records, one of which is The Little Mermaid and he got a Grammy Award nomination for it.
Besides his Game of Thrones character, Dotrice appeared in Dickens of London as Charles Dickens, the adaptation of AP Herbert’s Misleading Cases as Albert Haddock and in the 1980s’ Beauty and the Beast as Father Gary Barrett. Alongside these roles, he was the Zeus in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce’s father Roger in Angel.
Roy was in the Royal Air Force during World War II as a wireless operator and air gunner. He was on a plane when it got shot down, so he was taken, prisoner. He led a rich life and was married to Katherine Newman for 60 years, but she passed away in 2007. They had three daughters one of whom is Karen Dotrice, who followed in her father’s footsteps and is famous for her role in Disney’s Mary Poppins as Jane Banks.
