Lee Pace is an American actor who will be joining the cast of the upcoming Invincible Season 4 as Thragg. Aged 46, he was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, on March 25, 1979, and is known for the television series Halt and Catch Fire, Pushing Daisies, and others.
Pace’s upbringing had some geographic variety: as a child, his family spent years abroad in places like Saudi Arabia (his father worked in the oil industry) before returning to the U.S. and settling in Texas. He studied acting seriously. After high school theater work (including performing at Houston’s Alley Theatre), he attended the Juilliard School (via EBSCO).
Undoubtedly, fans are excited to have him join the series. While Pace isn’t a newcomer to genre work, stepping into the Invincible universe marks a new challenge and raises big expectations for the power dynamics ahead.
Who Is Lee Pace Playing in Invincible Season 4?
Lee Pace is known for portraying fierce characters in the fantasy genre, especially Thranduil the Elvenking in The Hobbit trilogy and Ronan the Accuser in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In Invincible Season 4, he will be starring as a similar character: the formidable Viltrumite leader Thragg.
Thragg is the Grand Regent of the Viltrumites, aka the supreme leader of the Viltrumite Empire. Not only is he one of the most formidable antagonists in the Invincible
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, creator Robert Kirkman offered more insights into the character:
Thragg is an extremely complex character in that he is clearly a villain, but he’s one of those villains that has a very clear purpose. There’s a sense of drive to him where he has compassion for the Viltrumites, and there are things that he wants to accomplish for the Viltrumites that are very deeply important to him. So his motivation comes from a very human place.
As for why he chose Pace, Kirkman explained that he was a fan of the sci-fi drama Foundation, where Pace played several versions of the galactic emperor Brother Day. Remarking that there are some characters where he always had an actor in mind, Thragg was one of them, and “Lee was the actor.“
In another interview with TV Insider, the creator remarked that it was remarkable how Pace was using his calmness and exuding confidence (via his voice) to show his character’s might. Calling him impressive, Kirkman added that he’s absolutely terrifying no matter what he’s doing.
Lee Pace Gets Candid on Playing Thragg in Invincible Season 4
While the creator Robert Kirkman has praised Lee Pace for his formidable talent, the actor himself got candid about playing such a character. Hilariously remarking that he keeps getting typecast in such roles, the actor went on to reveal what he loved the best about Thragg.
Talking in reference to Thragg’s red-and-white uniform, complete with cape, Grecian emperor skirt, and fur shawl, the actor said:
Let me just start with that he looks cool as hell! The character looks so badass. As I was learning more about the story we were setting up, what I saw was a character with a lot of depth and a lot of different extremes. He goes through a lot. I don’t want to say too much about that because we’re just at the beginning of it, but I’ve also never done anything like this before. I’ve never done a voice-to-character like this.
Calling him an extraordinarily powerful person, he remarked that Thragg is a lot organised, strong, disciplined, and confident, and the story dismantles him. While Pace is having fun deep diving into the many fan materials on the character, Kirkman teased to EW that fans can expect several new things about the character that have not been revealed in the comics yet.
In short, Lee Pace isn’t just joining the cast, but is stepping into one of the most pivotal roles in Invincible’s mythos. His Thragg will test Mark Grayson, Omni-Man, and the rest of the universe in deeper ways than ever before.
What do you think about his casting? Let us know in the comments below!
Invincible Season 4 is scheduled to release sometime in March, exclusively on Prime Video.
