<Li> Magda Szubanski as Mrs. Lonsdale </Li> <Li> Edward de Souza as the Magisterium's second high councilor . </Li> <Ul> <Li> Ian McKellen as Iorek Byrnison, a panserbjørn (armored bear) who becomes Lyra's friend and comrade . Nonso Anozie had recorded lines for the part of Iorek Byrnison, but was replaced by McKellen at a late stage as New Line wanted a bigger name in the role . New Line president of production Toby Emmerich claimed that he "never thought Anozie sounded like Iorek" and while he initially trusted director Weitz's casting decision, he "never stopped thinking that this guy didn't sound right ." The recasting was against Weitz's wishes, though he later said "if you're going to have anyone recast in your movie, you're happy it's Ian McKellen ." </Li> <Li> Freddie Highmore as Pantalaimon, Lyra's dæmon . Pan was originally to be voiced by an older actor, but they called in Highmore instead, as it would be more of an intimate relationship if Pan and Lyra were the same age, and also would underscore the contrast between Lyra's relationship with him versus her relationships with older male characters such as Lord Asriel, Lee Scoresby and Iorek . </Li> <Li> Ian McShane as Ragnar Sturlusson, king of the panserbjørner . Ragnar's name in the book was Iofur Raknison, but the name was changed to prevent confusion between him and Iorek . However, in the German - language version of the film, the dialogue retains the name "Iofur Raknison", whilst the subtitles reflect the change . </Li> <Li> Kathy Bates as Hester, Lee Scoresby's jackrabbit dæmon . </Li> <Li> Kristin Scott Thomas as Stelmaria, Lord Asriel's dæmon . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Ian McKellen as Iorek Byrnison, a panserbjørn (armored bear) who becomes Lyra's friend and comrade . Nonso Anozie had recorded lines for the part of Iorek Byrnison, but was replaced by McKellen at a late stage as New Line wanted a bigger name in the role . New Line president of production Toby Emmerich claimed that he "never thought Anozie sounded like Iorek" and while he initially trusted director Weitz's casting decision, he "never stopped thinking that this guy didn't sound right ." The recasting was against Weitz's wishes, though he later said "if you're going to have anyone recast in your movie, you're happy it's Ian McKellen ." </Li>

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