Sigismund Dijkstra

Dijkstra is Redania's spymaster, a portly, soft-spoken man who trades in secrets and leverage rather than swords. He works the corridors of power on behalf of King Vizimir, weighing every kingdom's mages, sorceresses and rulers as pieces to be turned. Courteous on the surface, he makes clear that crossing him carries a cost.

Graham McTavish plays him with a stillness that's more unsettling than any shouted threat—Dijkstra never needs to raise his voice because the audience quickly learns he doesn't have to. The writing gives him a genuine mind for politics, and McTavish lets his charm and his menace occupy the same sentence without strain.