HBO is currently filming season 2 of the wildly popular Game of Thrones and a big announcement was pushed out through Entertainment Weekly. Gemma Whelan, who you might know from Gulliver’s Travels and ‘The Wolfman’ will be joining the cast to play a character from the books, with a slight name change.
In the novels, the character that Gemma will be playing is called Asha Greyjoy. Now she will be called Yara Greyjoy.
Producers have tapped Gemma Whelan (Gulliver’s Travels, The Wolfman) to play Yara Greyjoy, the older sister of the Stark family’s impulsive young ward Theon. Yara defies the Ironborn traditions of her family by commanding her own ship and leading men into battle, as well as having a penchant for axes.
Producers also had a simple explanation for the name change. The name Asha was just too similar to the name of Osha.