Sisters in arms
characters are known to be dangerous and manipulative. Now, get ready for the most venomous and deadliest of them all. In the fifth season, the series introduces three half-sisters known as Sand Snakes.
Say hello (with caution) to the eldest, Obara Sand (Keisha CastleHughes) who arms herself with a spear, Nymeria Sand (Jessica Henwick) who wields a whip and the youngest, Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) who prefers double daggers.
They are all daughters of the philandering Prince Oberyn Martell (aka the Red Viper of Dorne) who was killed in the fourth season.
In a telephone interview with Henwick, the actress reveals the motive behind the sisters’ lust for Lannisters blood: “We grew up with Oberyn telling us that we are going to kill the Lannisters. It’s not just Oberyn we are fighting for, we are also fighting for our people. We are fighting for justice. So I think that’s the overall motive, it’s definitely what drives my character.”
The three actresses hail from different countries – Castle-Hughes is from New Zealand, Sellers is from United States and Henwick is from Britain – but Henwick reveals they got along brilliantly.
“We had a great dynamic. We moved as a unit. We were either on the set or wandering around in Spain or at the hotel. We really, really, got on, and were in the sisters mode. I was very much a middle child,” she shares with a laugh.
Seville, Spain, became the backdrop for the sisters’ homeland, Dorne – a land that has a Mediterranean feel to it. Henwick got to experience first hand just how intense the Spanish fans are about the series.
“They were outside the hotel at four in the morning every day waiting for the actors to leave the hotel. Funny thing is, no one recognised me, Keisha or Rosabell because we are new characters. So people would come up to us and ask, ‘Oh where are the actors? Have you seen them? We’d go, ‘Oh no, sorry, we have no idea’,” she says cheerfully.
Not only do the sisters have special weapons, each has a unique look as well.
For Henwick, it was important that her outfit allowed for her arms to move freely as to control the whip. Designer Michelle Clapton created Henwick’s free-flowing outfit out of leather and silk.
“Incredible boots too, but very, very, hard to stand in the sand. For the first day, Keisha, Rosabell and I were practising one of our fights and we were falling all over. It was next to the portable toilet and it was raining and there were fans trying to take a picture of us, it was quite embarrassing,” Henwick remembers.
Nonetheless, the actress is understandably excited about playing a Sand Snake. Her character will debut in the fourth episode of the show. “These are three strong women with very different personalities, uniting for one reason and that is to kill the Lannisters,” she concludes.