Even though many of the characters didn't end up surviving the entire run of the show,
Game of Thrones' mix of established actors and new faces has made its core cast into
household names across the entire world.
In fact, you may not realize just how many times you've seen them.
As Tyrion Lannister, veteran American actor Peter Dinklage has turned out years of impressive,
deeply emotional, and funny performances, winning three Emmys for the role.
Tyrion's biting wit, political wherewithal, and surprisingly generous heart make him one
of the most complicated and fascinating characters on television.
Thanks to Dinklage's layered portrayal, he has become one of the show's most beloved
characters.
Dinklage was already well-known before he was cast on Thrones, with his breakthrough
role coming in The Station Agent in 2003.
His film career has only flourished since, with appearances in comedies like Elf and
dramatic roles in everything from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to Avengers: Infinity
War.
The world almost missed out on Dinklage's performance on Thrones because he promised
to himself to never take cliché "magical dwarf" roles.
However, creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, with some help from author George R.R. Martin,
eventually convinced Dinklage, the first and only contender for the part, to sign on.
"You feelin' strong, my friend?
Call me elf one more time!"
One of the primary contenders for the Iron Throne, Daenerys Targaryen, has grown from
a meek young bride to a warrior queen with a massive army and a litter of dragons.
Daenerys has given the show some of its most epic moments, thanks in large part to Emilia
Clarke's performance, as viewers might guess from her multiple Emmy nominations.
As a fearless leader who can do everything from walking through fire to inspiring whole
civilizations, Daenerys has become another of the show's most popular characters.
Since she began her turn on Thrones in 2011, the high-profile part has earned her plenty
of other opportunities.
In 2015, Clarke played Sarah Connor in Terminator: Genisys.
She would eventually admit she was relieved by the film's negative reviews and glad to
not be obligated to return for any sequels.
Romance fans, meanwhile, might remember Clarke from Me Before You, but her most popular non-Thrones
part yet came in Solo: A Star Wars Story, where she played Qi'ra.
Though Sean Bean only appeared in nine episodes of Game of Thrones as Eddard "Ned" Stark,
his shadow has loomed over the series.
The patriarch of the Stark family stands as the Warden of the North before being dragged
into political intrigue in King's Landing.
There, he briefly serves as Hand of the King to Robert Baratheon, until ending up imprisoned
on charges of high treason for making it known that Robert's apparent heir, Joffrey, was
not the king's legitimate son.
Though Ned brands himself a traitor to stay alive for his family, Joffrey beheads him
anyway, setting off a war.
Bean himself has appeared in everything from Troy to Goldeneye, but one of his most well-known
roles was in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film in Peter Jackson's Lord of the
Rings trilogy.
As Boromir, heir to the throne of Gondor, Bean played an honorable character who turns
treacherous then turns back.
"One does not simply walk into Mordor."
He's corrupted by the power of the One Ring before falling in battle protecting the rest
of the Fellowship.
Thanks to the stand-out sacrifices of characters like Ned and Boromir, Bean has become known
for dying quickly and spectacularly, making death scenes something of a calling card.
As Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, Aidan Gillen spent seven seasons playing the sneakiest
man in the Seven Kingdoms, whose constant conniving and plotting help him rise quite
high before his eventual downfall.
Though his supposed love for Catelyn Stark is what seems to drive Littlefinger's actions
throughout the show, it becomes clear that Littlefinger is out for himself, and when
he tries to turn the Stark sisters against each other in the show's seventh season, he
meets his match.
Long-time HBO fans likely recognize Gillen from his similar role on another one of the
network's critically-beloved series, The Wire.
He played Tommy Carcetti, a politician who rises through the ranks of
the Baltimore government before ending up as the governor of Maryland.
Many film fans were introduced to Gillen in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises,
where he had a small role as a CIA agent.
He has since said he prefers smaller films to big-budget blockbusters.
Cersei Lannister, multiple-time Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, is one of the show's most
complicated and often despicable characters.
A conniving strategist who is only out to serve herself, Cersei's introduction to audiences
ends with the revelation that she has been carrying on an affair with her twin brother
for years, resulting in three children.
Distrustful of her younger brother Tyrion and protective of her twin and lover, Jaime,
Cersei has spent seven seasons waging war.
After beginning her film career with a small role in The Remains of the Day, actress Lena
Headey rose to prominence thanks to her starring role in 300 and its sequel as Queen Gorgo,
a powerful leader of Sparta who does everything she can to help and protect her royal husband.
Headey then took on the role of yet another powerful woman, Sarah Connor, in Fox's Terminator:
The Sarah Connor Chronicles, for which she received particularly positive reviews.
During Thrones, she also appeared in a leading role in The Purge.
Throughout Thrones' run, Jaime Lannister has gone from one of the show's most morally compromised
characters to one of its most beloved heroes.
Known as the "Kingslayer" for assassinating King Aerys Targaryen during Robert's Rebellion,
Jaime begins the show by trying to kill Bran Stark, who catches Jaime in an intimate moment
with Cersei.
After losing his sword hand in the third season, he eventually turns his back on his sister
to help fight against the looming threat of the White Walkers.
His genuine friendships with lovable characters like Bronn and Brienne of Tarth, as well as
his love for his younger brother Tyrion, have humanized Jaime.
Though he has appeared in plenty of Scandinavian films, Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
was likely best known to American audiences pre-Thrones for his role in 2001's Black Hawk
Down.
During his tenure as Jaime, Coster-Waldau has appeared in everything from romantic comedies
like The Other Woman to horror films like Mama and big-budget epics like Gods of Egypt.
The Hound is yet another of Thrones' more complicated characters.
Even though he kills a child during the very first season of Thrones, his nurturing side
also becomes apparent when he becomes intensely protective of Sansa Stark during her doomed
engagement to King Joffrey.
Eventually, he ends up traveling alongside Sansa's sister Arya, who ultimately removes
him from her "kill list."
He later joins up with the magical Brotherhood Without Banners.
Fearful of fire after his savage brother, The Mountain, burned him as a child, many
viewers are hoping he will exact revenge.
"That's not how it ends for you, brother.
You know who's coming for you."
Scottish actor Rory McCann has risen to worldwide fame for the role, though viewers may have
seen him in a few films before Thrones.
Aside from a supporting role in 2004's Alexander alongside Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie,
McCann's best-known movie role is likely as Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's
Hot Fuzz.
Played with cold perfection by Charles Dance, Tywin Lannister will stop at nothing to keep
his family in power.
He's a shrewd strategist and warrior, ultimately helping defeat enemy forces attacking King's
Landing during the Battle of the Blackwater.
As the Hand of the King for his grandson Joffrey, Tywin enables Joffrey's cruelty and shows
nothing but cruelty to his own son, Tyrion.
This makes him one of the show's obvious villains.
Fittingly, he meets his end at Tyrion's hands.
A role like this requires a veteran performer, and Dance fit that profile perfectly.
The distinguished British actor even earned an OBE in 2006 thanks to his work on both
stage and screen.
Since getting his start with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Dance has appeared in everything
from the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only to genre blockbusters like Alien 3 to prestige
television dramas like Bleak House.
American audiences likely spotted him in his supporting role in 2014 Oscar nominee The
Imitation Game alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley.
As Margaery Tyrell, Natalie Dormer brought a calculated, entertaining, and fascinating
presence to Game of Thrones, with many viewers wondering if her manipulations would earn
her a seat on the Iron Throne.
Originally married to King Robert's brother, Renly Baratheon, Margaery ends up married
to Lannister kings Joffrey and Tommen.
A generous spirit who genuinely cares for Sansa, Margaery is a formidable contender
against Cersei, though she eventually meets her end when Cersei blows up the Sept of Baelor.
Before her turn on Thrones, one of Dormer's best-known roles was as yet another calculating
queen: Anne Boleyn in the first two seasons of Showtime's The Tudors.
Dormer went on to appear in Captain America: The First Avenger as Private Lorraine as well
as in Madonna's W.E. as the Duchess of York.
During her run on Thrones, Dormer took on another high-profile role as Cressida in both
installments of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.
Recently, she has earned critical acclaim for projects like Amazon's Picnic at Hanging
Rock, a mini-series remake of a classic Australian mystery.
When it came time to cast Olenna Tyrell, the "Queen of Thorns" and imposing matriarch of
the House of Tyrell, a formidable actress like Dame Diana Rigg could be the only choice.
A wise and intimidating high-born lady with an especially biting wit, Olenna would do
just about anything to protect her family.
She even orchestrates the assassination of King Joffrey.
After losing her entire family in the Sept of Baelor thanks to Cersei, Olenna sides with
Daenerys Targaryen, but is eventually cornered by Jaime Lannister, who offers her a gentle
death by poison.
Not content to go quietly, Olenna tells Jaime just before her death that she is responsible
for Joffrey's death.
"Tell Cersei.
I want her to know it was me."
Rigg was very well-known before her multi-season turn on Thrones, earning fame as Emma Peel
on the iconic '60s British TV series The Avengers before becoming Tracy Bond, 007's only wife,
alongside George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
That paved the way for several projects to come, including her eventual role on Thrones.
Robb Stark serves as one of the show's moral centers.
But by going back on a de facto engagement to a daughter of Walder Frey, one of his family's
allies, he seemingly seals his fate.
Ultimately, his marriage to foreign-born healer Talisa costs him, Talisa, and his mother Catelyn
their lives.
The scene remains powerfully upsetting, thanks largely to the performances of Richard Madden
and his onscreen mother, Michelle Fairley.
After his on-screen death, Madden racked up a number of new opportunities.
After parts in Medici: Masters of Florence and Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Cinderella
as the Prince, Madden made a departure from period pieces and fantasy by playing a DJ
in Netflix's Ibiza opposite Gillian Jacobs.
Most recently, he gained international acclaim for his leading role in the BBC series Bodyguard,
for which he won a Golden Globe.
As Game of Thrones has progressed, so has Jon Snow.
After joining forces with the Wildlings beyond the wall, he is stabbed by his own brothers
in the Night's Watch, but is eventually revived to fight another day alongside Daenerys Targaryen.
At the close of the show's sixth season, it's officially confirmed that Jon is the royal
son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, who married in secret before their deaths.
Not only does this make Jon the top contender for the Iron Throne, it also makes him Daenerys'
nephew, which is pretty awkward considering that they consummated their newfound relationship
at the end of the seventh season.
Actor Kit Harington lent his voice to the well-received animated film How to Train Your
Dragon 2 and re-teamed with HBO for both the limited series Gunpowder as well as the raucous
sports mockumentary 7 Days in Hell.
In early 2019, Harington also made his Saturday Night Live hosting debut, enlisting several
Thrones co-stars, including his real-life wife, Rose Leslie for his monologue.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about Game of Thrones are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.