<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 did n'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> 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 did n'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>
name of the armoured bear in the golden compass
name of the armoured bear in the golden compass
Iorek Byrnison
Iorek Byrnison