 He joined the cast of "Game of Thrones" in 2011 as Stannis Baratheon, a major contender for the throne of the fictional realm of Westeros.While admitting he had not read the books on which the series is based, he commented that the show's appeal was due to "the storytelling, the extraordinary world that’s created and the way it reflects our actual world – a naked, ruthless pursuit of power in all its forms.