As every Game of Thrones fan knows, winter was coming for a long, long time. The Night King and his white walkers came and went, and everyone lived happily ever after. Well, not everyone… most characters met their maker! But what happened to the cast of the most successful show ever made? Let’s find out which of the cast members lived happily ever after and which were doomed…
Sean Bean – Then
Yorkshire’s finest son, Sean Bean, was born in Sheffield in 1959. He shot to fame in the 1990s on TV as Napoleonic wartime hero Richard Sharpe and became a famous face in Hollywood. His character Alec Trevelyan battled 007 James Bond in Goldeneye.
Sean’s most famous role was playing Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring. However, Boromir didn’t last long as, after trying to take the ring from Fordo, he was taken down by orcs while protecting the Hobbits.
Sean Bean – Now
Sean Bean lasted about the same time as Ned Stark as he did Boromir. Joffrey Baratheon had the Head of House Stark beheaded after just nine episodes! Since losing his head in season one, Bean has appeared in Silent Hill: Revelation, Possessor, and aided Matt Damon’s stranded astronaut in The Martian.
The screen legend’s recent television credits include Legends, The Frankenstein Chronicles, Snowpiercer, and the BBC’s prison series Time — for which he won the British Academy Television Award as Leading Actor.
Isaac Hempstead Wright – Then
Isaac Hempstead Wright was born in 1999 in Surrey, England. As a boy, he took acting classes to avoid playing soccer on cold British mornings! At a young age, Wright became interested in acting and joined a drama club to overcome his shyness. His passion for acting raised its head, and he started auditioning for roles.
Isaac’s big break came aged 10 when producers cast him as Bran Stark. His character was a blind warg and Three-Eyed Raven who possessed supernatural gifts.
Isaac Hempstead Wright – Now
Surprising every Game of Thrones fan, Bran Stark eventually won the Iron Throne (well, it was actually destroyed by Drogon’s dragon fire breath) to be crowned as the King of the Seven Kingdoms (well, it’s actually Six Kingdoms now!) Isaac dropped out of the University of Birmingham to focus on acting, but that didn’t go too well…
In 2019, the secular humanist and Harry Potter look-a-like returned to study neuroscience, saying he intended to continue acting while doing so. He last appeared in 2021’s Voyagers.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson – Then
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson was born in 1988 in Reykjavík, Iceland. A lanky teenager, the real-life Viking initially played basketball before becoming a professional strongman athlete. Standing a towering 6’8″, he was the perfect choice to replace Conan Stevens and Ian Whyte as Ser Gregor “The Mountain that Rides” Clegane from the fourth season onward.
Gregor Cleghane is Sandor “The Hound” Clegane’s older brother. The siblings have hated each other since Gregor scarred Sandor by thrusting his face into a brazier.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson – Now
The Mountain became Cersei Lannister’s personal bodyguard and took delight in ripping enemies to pieces or chopping their heads off! He was eventually poisoned by Oberyn “The Red Viper” Martell’s poisoned spear during trial by combat.
After GoT, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson won the Arnold Strongman Classic three times, became a Guinness World Record-holding deadlifter, and an undefeated heavyweight boxer. However, he only secured a few acting jobs, with his sole acting credit being a short but memorable part in Robbert Egger’s epic Viking saga, The Northman.
Rory McCann – Then
If you thought you knew The Hound from somewhere, you might recognize him for playing Michael “Lurch” Armstrong, the supermarket ogre from Edgar Wright’s comedy Hot Fuzz. You might also have recognized Scottish actor Rory McCann from his first acting job as an extra on Ron Howard’s Willow… if he wasn’t fired for laughing between scenes!
Luckily, the Glaswegian actor didn’t get fired from Game of Thrones, playing Gregor Clegane’s younger brother, Sandor Clegane, aka The Hound, for seven out of eight seasons.
Rory McCann – Now
After being on the run as a fugitive with Arya Stark and nearly losing his life, The Hound had an epiphany and traveled with the Brotherhood Without Banners in search of his soul. Rory’s life imitates art because, just like The Hound, the erstwhile actor lives a solitary, transient lifestyle, alternating between living on his boat and moving around.
McCann traveled to Iceland for the film premiere of Beowulf and Grendel and ended up living in a tent, working as a carpenter!
Gwendoline Christie – Then
Gwendoline Christie was born in Worthing, West Sussex, England in 1978. As a child, she trained to become a gymnast but took up acting after she suffered a spinal injury.
Gymnastics loss was acting’s gain, as the 6’2″ giant actress graduated from Drama Centre London in 2005. Due to her tall physique, industry insiders told her she “would probably never work because she didn’t look the same as most actors.”
Inspired by Tilda Swinton’s performance in Orlando, when Gwendoline told her agent she’d like to work on screen, they told her, “Well, good luck with that!” Actor Simon Callow took her under his wing, and her feature film debut was a minor role in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Heath Leger’s last film.
Gwendoline Christie – Now
Proving everyone wrong, she joined Thrones, brilliantly playing fierce warrior Brienne of Tarth. Her character’s struggle for justice, honor, recognition, and complex relationship with Jaime Lannister made Brienne one of the show’s most popular characters. Gwendoline up an Emmy nomination along the way. Stick that where the sun don’t shine, agent!
Her acting success led to roles like Commander Lyme in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2, Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, plus Jane Murdstone in The Personal History of David Copperfield.
On television, she played the lead in Jane Campion’s mystery drama Top of the Lake: China Girl and Lucifer in Netflix’s The Sandman. Gwendoline has been in a long-time relationship with British fashion designer Giles Deacon since 2013.
Charles Dance – Then
Charles Dance OBE was one of the most famous and established actors to appear in HBO’s most successful series. Born in 1946 in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, he initially pursued graphic design before discovering his passion for acting.
After acting on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Dance made his feature film debut in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Known for his booming voice, commanding presence, and versatile performances, Dance went on to appear in movies like Michael Collins, Gosford Park, and Alien 3.
Nathalie Emmanuel – Then
Nathalie Emmanuel was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England in 1989. She inherited her good looks from her Dominican mother and half-Saint Lucian, half-English father.
Nathalie began her acting career in theater in the late 1990s, appearing in the West End production of The Lion King. In 2006, she began her TV career by starring as Sasha Valentine in the soap opera Hollyoaks. While working as an assistant in a clothes shop, she was cast as Daenerys Targaryen’s interpreter.
Missandei became a close confidante and trusted advisor to Dani, culminating in Nathalie’s promotion to a regular GoT cast member in 2015. The British actress became the show’s only prominent woman of color. However, while Game of Thrones finally included a woman of color, she was a former slave.
Nathalie Emmanuel – Now
Missandei controversially lost her life in “The Last of the Starks” when Cersei ordered Gregor Clegane, aka The Mountain, to chop off her head while she was standing on the castle keep in chains. This caused much backlash among fans. The HBO show and George R.R. Martin’s original books were never known for their diversity.
Nathalie went on to play computer hacker Ramsey in Furious 7, the seventh installment of the Fast & Furious films. She also played Harriet in the science fiction Maze Runner franchise. In 2020, she played Jordan King alongside Kevin Hart in his series Die Hart.
