All the Actors You Forgot Were in 2004's 'King Arthur'
Even if you didn't see Antoine Fuqua's version of "King Arthur" back in 2004, you're probably aware that A) it really upset traditionalists and B) starred Clive Owen as King Arthur, Keira Knightley as Guinevere, and Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot.
At the time, the rest of Arthur's Round Table didn't have much marquee value. But 15 years later, these fellows have several more illustrious projects on their resumés, including "Game of Thrones," "Thor," and "Doctor Strange."
Two years before he played villain Le Chiffre in "Casino Royale," this Danish actor caught our attention as taciturn Tristan, who's very into falconry. He'd already appeared in Nicolas Winding Refn's "Pusher," and went on to star as the one-eyed fighter in Refn's 2009 bloody "Valhalla Rising." And then Disney and Marvel and Rihanna called. And he got to play a very famous cannibal for a while.
If you're a hardcore fan of the "Hannibal" series, then you already know that the NBC show was a reunion for Dancy and Mikkelsen. Here, Dancy played Galahad, who is about the same age as Lancelot (Gruffudd) instead of his son, as is traditional. After "Hannibal" wrapped in 2014, Dancy went on to star as the charismatic leader of a cult in Hulu's "The Path." He'll also appear with real-life wife Claire Danes in the upcoming season of "Homeland."
This Aussie actor had already played young Uncle Owen in the "Star Wars" prequels, but he really started to pique people's interest with the 2010 Australian noir "Animal Kingdom" and 2011's "Warrior." Since then, he's gone on to work with Baz Luhrmann, Kathryn Bigelow, Ridley Scott and direct his own films including "The Gift" and "Boy Erased." Here, he plays fierce Gawain, who parties as hard as he fights.
Skarsgård, best known up to this point as as Matt Damon's professor in "Good Will Hunting," rocked a mighty, Thor-like beard as villainous Saxon Cerdic. A mere 7 years later, he was pounding brews with Thor himself in his first MCU appearance. He's been consistently great in series including "River" and this year's "Chernobyl." He's currently filming "Dune," in which he plays another epic villain, Baron Harkonnen.
The future Stannis of the House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals (etc.) on "Game of Thrones" played wizard Merlin in this version of the Arthurian legend. Other future "Game of Thrones" cast members appearing here: Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale), as Pelagius and Brynden "The Blackfish" Tully (Clive Russell) as Lancelot's father.
Best known as Thor's always hungry pal Volstagg, Stevenson played Dagonet. The character is traditionally Arthur's jester, who always runs from battle. Here, he's a towering, axe-wielding warrior who can fight with the best of them. Stevenson's other roles include Blackbeard on "Black Sails," Isaak Sirko on "Dexter," and Titus Pullo on "Rome." The man is good at mayhem.
Currently filming "Black Widow" for Marvel, Winstone played Bors, who was as well known for his short temper as for his many, many children. This British veteran, who made his acting debut in 1975, costarred in Best Picture winner "The Departed," 2007's "Beowulf" and 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Our favorite movie of his? British heist film "Sexy Beast."
Since playing Cerdic's bloodthirsty son Cynric, Schweiger has appeared in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," "Atomic Blonde," and "This Means War." And he reunited with "King Arthur" costars Stevensen, Mikkelsen in 2011's "The Three Musketeers." If you need a German actor in your film (who isn't Daniel Brühl or Thomas Kretschmann), this is the guy Hollywood calls.
