Game of Thrones' DeObia Oparei can't wait for an Areo Hotah fight 

\'Game of Thrones\' DeObia Oparei can\'t wait for an Areo Hotah fight

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Areo Hotah has been an imposing presence in "Game of Thrones" Season 5, but the actor who plays him, DeObia Oparei, is ready for him to be more.

The right-hand man of Prince Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig) is a famed warrior and the closest advisor of Dorne\'s ruler. Oparei compares Areo to the likes of Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and Hodor (Kristian Nairn); he\'s the brawn behind the brains. But the actor, best known for roles in "Pirates in the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and "Your Highness," says by the end of this season viewers will have seen a bit of Areo\'s political savviness as well.

"Areo works as a counterweight to the brass hysteria of the Sand Snakes," he tells Zap2it of his intervention in the Sand Snakes\' fight with Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). "But behind, Areo is also a political animal too. I think we get to see that later on, that he has a mind behind the brawn. I think that\'s what\'s exciting too, that it\'s not just brawn, but of course I\'m hungry to take some heads."

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In George R.R. Martin\'s "A Feast for Crows," the novel that first introduces Areo Hotah, the character does exactly that. He famously beheads a character named Arys Oakheart (who was lost in translation to the HBO series) in Areo\'s biggest display of skill. Though that scene might not be making it to the TV show, Oparei is itching for a fight.

"[Areo\'s] not a bloodthirsty character, which is exciting. He\'s a man of action, but he\'s also a man of honor, and he\'s guided by that. That\'s what\'s exciting about playing that role, and then the opportunity to get into battle is exciting too because it comes from a different place; a more disciplined, stoic place," he says. "In terms of that excitement for my character\'s hunger for violence to be expressed in the show, yeah. We do see some of it, and there is that possibility that there\'s going to be more to come because the axe that he wields is as much a part of the character as anything."

Areo hasn\'t had much screentime in Season 5, and Oparei hopes that\'s because there\'s more of his story to tell. He felt like Dorne\'s introduction this year was "the beginning" of a multi-arc saga, and that was how he played his character. That means there\'s the opportunity for both Areo and his lord, Prince Doran, to be explored more in Season 6.

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"When you read the books [Doran] is much more of a politically astute mind as to what\'s going on in his kingdom and what needs to be done and where the power players are. There\'s that hope that as an actor that will come up in next season\'s scripts. As of now, I\'m not sure. The writers and showrunners keep their cards very close to their chests -- as they should," Oparei says. "I trust in the integrity of their creative minds that that\'s going to happen, that that\'s going to come up, because Dorne in the books is so rich and it\'s such a great story that\'s unfolded."

Oparei only started reading the books when he was auditioning for the role of Areo Hotah on "Game of Thrones." Before that, he admired the show from afar; many of his colleagues from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre landed parts on the show, and he relished the depth and integrity they were able to bring to their characters.

When it came time for Oparei to tackle his own "Game of Thrones" character, he delved into Areo\'s backstory and purpose with the same sort of zeal. Every character on "Game of Thrones" is a specific cog in story, and Oparei has clearly spent plenty of time thinking about why Areo is integral to Dorne and Season 5.

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"The TV show does this quite often with very powerful figures ... that in some way they\'re physically incapacitated, just as the prince is. Then they have this physical presence that is there to carry out their power," he explains. "It says something quite interesting about power, and I find that fascinating about the show. I think that Areo\'s relationship with the prince -- even though it\'s a very different character -- it\'s in keeping with what the show seems to be saying about the nature of power and the ability to carry out power; that with great power also comes some kind of great physical incapacitation.

"It says something quite strong and quite interesting about the nature of power, that often the most power are not the most physically powerful, and they have people that carry out that power for them. I think that the world of Dorne is similar to that, in that you have this very powerful man in this wheelchair who\'s physically incapacitated and relies on his CIA, head of FBI Areo Hotah to carry out that power. I think there\'s a telling of the power narrative in those characters that -- like Areo, like Brienne of Tarth, Hodor -- I think that\'s kind of partly exciting too."

"Game of Thrones" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. It is already renewed for a sixth season.

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