BIT: The Triumvirate of High Fantasy Martyrdom Known As Sean Bean

There was a time before he was the father, son, and ghost of modern fantasy martyrdom, when Sean Bean was just a Brit getting ambushed by Robert DeNiro's cup of coffee in RONIN.  Now he has conquered the sword and shield crowd at every shelf of the modern fantasy storytelling libram.

It all started in 2001 when Mr. Sean Bean was cast in a little watched art house film called The Fellowship of the Ring.  As the years have gone on, what with his other successes, this film has gained a small cult following for Mr. Bean's performance as Boromir, the rightful lord of Minas Tirith -- "Gondor needs no king" was the biggest catchphrase in fantasy film since Morla the Ancient One claimed to be allergic to youth in the NeverEnding Story.
It could have ended there had a little known video game company called BETHESDA SOFTWORKS not decided the one thing the greatest video game of all time, THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION, was missing was the gravel in Sean Bean's voice.  Thus. in 2005, we few, we lucky few, we Bethsoft sycophants, met the bastard son of the assassinated emperor of Tamriel, a Priest of Akatosh named Martin Septim, a kindly if befuddled cleric who greatly disliked being pickpocketed.  While the famous end scene where Martin, now the rightful emperor, turns into a dragon, closes the gates of HELL, and dies gloriously, is more celebrated, all true fans of the series remember fondly the line Sean Bean gave as Martin much earlier in the game: when told he may just be the dead Emperor's bastard, Brother Martin, Priest of Akatosh says, "Gondor needs no king."
It came as no surprise to me that when HBO went into production on George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones they were willing to split the Bluray profits with Mr. Sean Bean, (an unheard of deal for a television actor), because, as most now know, when it comes to putting over swords, scraggly hair, and coming winters, one gets Sean Fucking Bean.
As the conqueror of television, movies, and video games, where next can Sean Bean sink his girthy claymore?  Whatever form media and storytelling take in the next decade, if there is still a market for scraggly-haired white guy swordsmen who always get killed, then be confident: Sean Bean will be there.  Gondor may need no king, but for the world of fantasy storytelling there is no choice but hail your rightful liege.