Game Of Thrones' Natalie Dormer Plays A Major Character In Mass Effect Andromeda

Natalie Dormer might be best known as Game of Thrones' wily queen Margaery Tyrell, but with her days in Westeros numbered, the actress is venturing out into other—some might say final—frontiers. To wit: not only will Dormer voice a crew member on the Tempest, Mass Effect Andromeda's main ship, but she'll actually be the first character that players meet.

As the ship's doctor, the Asari medic Lexi T'Perro, Dormer will greet your Pathfinder when he or she emerges from a 600-year cryogenically-induced nap. But hero-reheater is not the only role that Lexi will play—according to Caroline Livingstone, Mass Effect Andromeda's performance and voice over producer, Dr. T'Perro will also provide medical and psychological assistance to the player throughout the game. Mac Walters, BioWare's creative director, says that players can visit Lexi to get a sense of how popular their decisions are—or aren't—with other members of the Tempest's crew, filling the same role as Dr. Chakwas in the original Mass Effect trilogy.

However, that doesn't mean that Lexi won't have a life of her own. In a brief video interview, Dormer notes that Dr. T'Perro has a wry and unique sense of humor, while Walters says that Lexi will have an ongoing rivalry with Peebee, Mass Effect Andromeda's other main Asari, and a crush on the Tempest's resident Krogan, Drack. Walters claims that these relationships will progress even if the player isn't around, making Lexi and the other characters feel more alive.

Dormer isn't the only Game of Thrones alumnus appearing in Andromeda, either. The next Mass Effect game will reunite Dormer with Gethin Anthony, who appeared as Dormer's husband Renly Baratheon in the first two seasons of HBO's fantasy drama. In Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthony plays Gil Brodie, the Tempest's chief engineer.

Mass Effect Andromeda is scheduled for release on March 21, 2017, just about five years after the last Mass Effect game, Mass Effect 3, made its debut. Like its predecessors, Mass Effect Andromeda will feature a branching storyline that's dictated by the players' actions—although, hopefully, the decisions that you make will end up being a bit more meaningful this time around.