With yet another wonderful addition, the cast for HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones is shaping up to be quite impressive. Brought to my attention by the always-tenacious Winter-Is-Coming, in an exclusive reveal by television critic Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune, it has been confirmed that Lena Headey, of 300 and The Sarah Connor Chronicles fame, will be portraying the queen everyone loves to hate—Cersei Lannister. She will be joining Peter Dinklage, Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Jennifer Ehle, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tamzin Merchant, and Iain Glen, as well as a few lesser known and completely unknown actors in the pilot. There are also a few roles that have not been announced yet, including the unconfirmed but heavily rumored casting of Rory McCann as Sandor “The Hound” Clegane.

When it comes to producing quality television, HBO is so far above anyone else, that it’s almost laughable. Time and time again, they manage to bring together the right producers, directors, writers, and actors to create truly wonderful pieces of entertainment. And, with the cast of Game of Thrones, they seem to be once again bringing the mad skillz. Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean were complete fan favorites for their roles, but the others are out of varying degrees of left field. I can safely say, however, that each addition to the cast (with the possible exception of Merchant as Daenarys Targaryen) has just felt right. HBO could have a real winner on its hands, and considering both the source material and the level of quality we have come to expect from them, there is really no reason why they shouldn’t.

Filming of the pilot for Game of Thrones will begin October 26^th in Ireland.