Josh Whitehouse Joins HBO’s Game of Thrones Prequel

Josh Whitehouse has been set for a lead role in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, per Deadline. Details are being kept under wraps on his character, although this news follows yesterday’s announcement that Naomi Watts was joining the ensemble cast, playing “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.”

With only a few acting credits to his name, Whitehouse is still perhaps an unknown quantity for the A Song of Fire and Ice universe. He currently appears in Poldark, which is currently airing its fourth season in the U.S., and is the face of Burberry’s new fragrance campaign, ‘Mr. Burberry.’ Whitehouse also recently wrapped production as a lead in the David Lynch-produced drama The Happy Worker, and appears in MGM’s now-shelved musical retelling of Valley Girl alongside embattled YouTube star Logan Paul.

The Game of Thrones prequel takes place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, and chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. “Only one thing is for sure: From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend—it’s not the story we think we know,” reads HBO’s logline on the series.

HBO gave a pilot order in June for the prequel, which was created by A Song of Fire and Ice author George R.R. Martin and the Kingsman series’ Jane Goldman, both of whom will executive produce with Game of Thrones alum Vince Gerardis, Bloodline and Damages co-creator Daniel Zelman, and Jim Danger Gray, with Chris Symes serving as co-executive producer. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss will not be involved in any of the several potential spinoffs, including this one, that HBO is considering for its epic fantasy series.

We still don’t know when to expect the new prequel series to arrive, although HBO programming president Casey Bloys has previously said that any spinoff shows won’t premiere until at least a year after the original series wraps up, which will happen sometime in 2019.