‘Vikings’ Season 5 News: Kris Holden-Ried To Join The Cast As Eyvind, A Viking From Kattegat

Kris Holden-Ried has confirmed via his official Twitter account that he has joined the Season 5 cast of History’s Vikings. He will join Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the most recent cast member announcements for Season 5.

Spoiler Alert: This article discusses Season 5 of History’s Vikings as well as the historical aspects of some characters. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

According to Kris Holden-Ried’s announcement, he will play a character called Eyvind (pronounced “AY-vind”). As yet, very little else is known about this character and how he will impact the other characters already in Vikings.

So…
this is why I’m in Ireland ?
Grateful and honoured to be part of this production.
Thanks @HistoryVikings!!!#Vikings #dreamjob pic.twitter.com/T9qaHfMvY4

— Kris Holden-Ried (@KrisHolden_Ried) September 25, 2016

According to the press release by History, Kris Holden-Ried’s role of Eyvind in Season 5 of Vikings will be “an important warrior in Kattegat who decides to travel and settle his family in a new land.” So, is Eyvind a made up character, or can we find some evidence of him in the history books?

According to the sagas of the Vikings, there are at least a couple of references to characters called Eyvind. So, which Eyvind could Kris Holden-Ried be playing in Season 5 of Vikings?

In the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, which was a chronicle of the kings of Norway, an Eyvind is mentioned. Eyvind Kinrifa was considered a pagan martyr who died at the hands of King Óláfr when he refused to convert to be baptized and converted to Christianity. Judging by the character description given by History, it seems unlikely this is the character they are talking about in Season 5 of Vikings, because the story about Eyvind Kinrifa involves his interaction with King Óláfr rather than his travels.

Eyvind Lambi, on the other hand, is a Viking known for his traveling ways. This Viking was of Norwegian descent, and his story is mostly told in the Viking saga known as Egil’s Saga. It is known that Eyvind went on a number of voyages with his nephew Thorolf Kveldulfsson, gaining a great deal of profit in their travels. Eyvind Lambi is also associated with another character we already know from History’s Vikings, that of Harald Finehair. In the Viking sagas, this character is known as Harald Fairhair, and he goes on to become known as the first king of Norway after uniting all the battling factions. Eyvind and Harald remain friends and allies for the remainder of their lives even though Harald killed Thorolf.

However, as we know from History’s Vikings, just because a character name coincides with one from the history of the Vikings does not mean it will definitely follow that character’s story as it happened in the history books. So fans will just have to wait until Season 5 of Vikings premieres to find out if the new character of Eyvind will be based on a historical figure or not.

Prior to joining Season 5 of Vikings, Kris Holden-Ried is known for his work as Dyson in SyFy’s Lost Girl, as well as the Galactic Authority Inspector Kierken in SyFy’s Dark Matter. However, playing the part of a historical figure is nothing new to Holden-Ried, as he also starred as Sir William Compton in Showtime’s historical drama, The Tudors.

As yet, a Season 5 start date has not been announced for Vikings. However, filming is currently underway in Ireland.

Are you excited Kris Holden-Ried has been cast in Season 5 of Vikings? Let us know by commenting below.

Season 4 of Vikings returns to the History Channel on November 30, Wednesday, at 9 p.m. ET. Vikings has also been renewed for Season 5 by the History Channel.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]