As Cersei Lannister rightly said, “If you play the game of thrones, you win or you die”, and many of the actors, unfortunately, have met an early demise in the series, only to see the same actors going on to pursue bigger and better projects (well, some of them at least). With George R. R. Martins flair for murdering his characters left, right and center, it’s a wonder that there are any characters left on the show at all.
We’ve brought you a list of all the characters that have been killed/written off in the series, and cover what the actors who play these characters have been through after their stint on the show.
(Source: IMDB)
Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo
Jason Momoa played the hulking war chieftain of the Dothraki tribe, Khal Drogo, and his intimidating presence on the show was definitely one to look out for. Khal Drogo met his early demise in season 1 of the show, where his tough ways lead to an infected wound, and Khal’s insistence on putting mud on the wound, saw it fester further. His wife tried to save him with dark magic but ended up killing him when she realized that the magic made Khal just a shell of himself. Khal should’ve stuck to fighting and left the medicines up to the maegi (witch doctor) instead.
Where is he now?
Jason Momoa told Graham Norton that it was tough to find work after ‘GOT’ because people thought he doesn’t speak English, but the recent years worked out pretty well for Momoa, who went to on to star in DC’s biggest box office hit ‘Aquaman’. The Hawaiian-born actor also went on to star in ‘Justice League’, and is currently filming a new futuristic drama TV series called ‘See’, so the actor is doing remarkably well after his death on ‘GOT’.
Sean Bean as Ned Stark
Sean Bean has never had any luck surviving most of his roles, and we see him killed in almost every series or movie he’s acted in. We see him face death in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, ‘Patriot Games’ and ‘GoldenEye’, to name a few, and the man has died a record 25 times on TV and film. His met his end as Ned Stark for not keeping his mouth shut in the series, and this ultimately saw poor ol’ Ned lose his head.
Where is he now?
The ruggedly good-looking actor has been in the industries since the ’80s and had no problem filling in his time with new roles for TV and films, along with voicing acting for video games. Some of the titles include the TV series ‘Missing’, ‘Family Guy’ and ‘The Frankenstein Chronicles’, and he is lately filming a cushy voice acting role in the animated movie ‘Watch the Skies’.
(Source: IMDB)
Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton
No one can forget the cruel Ramsay Bolton, and Rheon did an amazing job of playing the psychopathic, murdering, illegitimate son of Roose Bolton. His cruelty through the show was well marked, and he became arguably one of the most hated characters in ‘GOT’. It’s a good thing Sansa got out of her timid shell and gave Ramsay his just dessert by feeding him to his hounds, or was it the hounds who got their dessert? Either way, good riddance.
Where is he now?
Though Rheon, in reality, is the polar opposite of Ramsay, his performance in ‘GOT’ always makes us picture him as the bad guy. We saw him take up the evil helm in his further projects after the show, like ‘Inhumans’ where he played the backstabbing brother of Black Bolt. Rheon went on to star in Marvel’s ‘Misfits’, and ‘Family Guy’ as well, and his latest project is a Netflix movie by the name of ‘The Dirt’.
(Source: IMDB)
Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark
The Lady of Winterfell is a strong-willed woman and mother to five children. Stark is killed mercilessly, along with son Robb Stark, by Roose Bolton, Lothar Frey and his men at the Red Wedding in season 3, and fans were really hoping that she’d come back as Lady Stoneheart as she would in the novel, but that was not part of George R. R. Martin’s big plan.
Where is she now?
Fairley is a theater artist and plays Cassius in “Julius Caesar” at London’s Bridge Theatre, and her career didn’t suffer much after exiting the show, and she had a pretty decent run compared to Khal Drogo. Fairley went on to feature in several TV shows including ‘Suits’, ‘Resurrection’, and ‘Fortitude’, and she is currently filming a sci-fi series as Meredith Hatfield in ‘The Feed’.
(Source: IMDB)
Aidan Gillen as Lord Petyr Baelish
Baelish, who is better known as Littlefinger, is the Master of Coin in the Small Council under Joffrey and Robert Baratheon. Quite sly and shrewd, he openly admits his infatuation towards Catelyn Stark and later her daughter Sansa. The creepy and cunning Lord met his end when Arya Stark slits his throat in season 7 on the command of her elder sister Sansa at Winterfell.
Where is he now?
While Gillen may not be the Master of Coin anymore, he’s acted in some really high profile works in the past few years like ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Peaky Blinders’, ‘Project Bluebook’ and even went on to star in the film ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. He’s currently in post-production of a new film called ‘Rose Plays Julie’.
‘Game of Thrones’ shall return for its final installment on April 14, only on HBO.
