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. ''
name of the armoured bear in the golden compass
Iorek Byrnison Iorek Byrnison