Despite a controversial (and much derided) final season, HBO's Game of Thrones remains one of the most popular TV series of all time.Â
Fans fell in love with the actors who over time seemed to become their roles, but after so many years playing an iconic character, where do you go from there? Is the typecasting too strong to overcome or can an actor move on without too much trouble?
The answer varies by cast member, but you'll be happy to hear that many are doing just fine in their post-GoT existences.
Here's a rundown of "where they are now." Vote up the ones you think have made the best role choices as they navigate their lives after GoT.Â
Then: Oberyn Martell
Now: Critics lauded Pascal's contributions to Netflix's gritty crime series Narcos, but it was his depiction in Disney+'s The Mandalorian that truly cemented his post-GoT legacy. But his upcoming comedy projects are too tantalizing to ignore: In The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, he'll play a drug kingpin and Nicolas Cage superfan who entices the star (playing himself in the movie) to a birthday party that's really a CIA sting operation. Or something like that. Plus, he'll star in Judd Apatow's The Bubble about a bunch of actors holed up trying to finish a film during the pandemic. Grab the popcorn.
Then: Tyrion Lannister
Now: He who once drank and knew things killed it as evil mobster Roman Lunyov in Netflix's I Care A Lot - and now he's working on several productions, including the upcoming reboot of The Toxic Avenger.
Then: Khal Drogo
Now: One of the biggest breakout stars of Game of Thrones, Momoa's character died in the first season, leaving him free to pursue new projects like AMC series The Red Road, Canadian TV series Frontier and eventually his most famous and lucrative role as Aquaman in the DC universe of films. He's still busy, starring in Apple TV+ series See and appearing in a number of upcoming films including the Dune: Part One as iconic character Duncan Idaho and, of course, his next superhero stint in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Then: Ygritte
Now: She met her fate early on in GoT, but she has been working ever since (not only that, she's still married to her onscreen love Kit Harrington). Her biggest splash came as Maia Rindell on popular Paramount+ series The Good Fight, but we're also looking forward to her appearance in upcoming Agatha Christie film adaptation Death on the Nile with Gal Gadot and Kenneth Branagh, who plays Hercule Poirot and also directs. She'll also play Clare in a new TV adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife.
Then: Jon Snow
Now: Keeping a low profile since GoT ended, he'll nonetheless join former GoT alum Richard Madden in Marvel's upcoming Eternals movie
Then: Eddard "Ned" Stark
Now: Famous for dying often onscreen (his character only made it through the first season of GoT), Bean remains a pretty bankable character actor, with roles in much buzzed about indie horror film Possessor and TNT's series Snowpiercer, as well as the BBC's British prison thriller Time. He'll also do voiceover work for upcoming animated family film Watch the Skies.
Then: Sandor "The Hound" Clegane
Now: Perhaps perfectly cast as Jurgen the Brutal in Jumanji: The Next Level, he can currently be found in Netflix's Sherlock Holmes-themed The Irregulars about street-savvy Londoners in Victorian England. Forget the werewolves of London... and bring in the Hound.
Then: Arya Stark
Now: With British series Two Weeks to Live under her belt, Williams' new adventures also include FX's Sex Pistols biopic Pistol in which she'll rock out with Sid, Nancy, Johnny Rotten and the whole nasty lot of 'em.
Then: Jorah Mormont
Now: Always one for variety, Glen has starred in everything from Disney's Black Beauty reboot to indie sci-fi thriller The Colony. He'll also get creepy in upcoming British TV series The Rig about a Scottish oil rig enveloped in a mysterious fog.
Then: Daenerys Targaryen
Now: Clarke has stayed busy, and fans are excited for her mysterious new role in Marvel's next Disney+ series Secret Invasion. But what, no dragons?
Then: Brienne of Tarth
Now: Fresh off her stormtrooper stint in the latest Star Wars trilogy, fans are most excited for Christie next turn to the dark side as Lucifer in Netflix's upcoming The Sandman adaptation of the Neil Gaiman classic comic.
Then: Margaery Tyrell
Now: A recognized thespian, Dormer never needed GoT - and upon her demise in Cersei's wildfire revenge plot she continued with projects including Amazon's Picnic at Hanging Rock mini-series and more recently Starz's latest iteration of the Penny Dreadful anthology series.
Then: Cersei Lannister
Now: She's busy. Very busy. In addition to lots of animated voiceover work, Heady kicked some ass in Netflix's Gunpowder Milkshake and is set to play Dorothy Hunt in HBO's Nixon break-in drama series The White House Plumbers.
Then: Jaime Lannister
Now: He's keeping pretty busy, with actioners like Domino, and most recently filming with Jamie Foxx and January Jones in the upcoming crime thriller God Is a Bullet.
Then: Olenna Tyrell
Now: She starred in The Avengers (not that one, the 1960s TV series) about brought class to GoT - but this 82-year-old icon just keeps on going, playing Mother Dorothea in FX series Black Narcissus and set to appear as Miss Collins in the upcoming thriller Last Night in Soho alongside The Queen Gambit's Anya Taylor-Joy.
Then: Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane
Now: His character lasted until the very end if you don't count that his character was a zombie the last few seasons. Nonetheless, when he's not setting world deadlift records, his post-GoT existence began with 2019 actioner Pharaoh's War in which he stars alongside Mike Tyson (weird, we know). We're more excited about upcoming revenge thriller The Northman about a very pissed off Viking.
Then: Missandei
Now: Talk about busy. Since Hulu's Four Weddings and a Funeral reboot, she's been all over the place, including Die Hart, F9 and she'll be safe cracking across Europe in Netflix's upcoming series Army of Thieves. She'll also contribute her voice to audio movie (yes, that's a thing) Unsinkable and has joined the cast of horror-thriller The Bride.
Then: Sansa Stark
Now: She has several projects in production and will appear in creepy upcoming HBO Max thriller series The Staircase with Toni Collette and Colin Firth.
Then: Lyanna Mormont
Now: She didn't have a lot of scenes, but she stole every one she was in. And this young actress is just getting started, with starring roles in upcoming films like Catherine, Called Birdy (with fellow GoT-er Dean-Charles Chapman) and Starz's upcoming series Becoming Elizabeth about the famous British queen's ascension in which she'll play Jane Grey.
Then: Melisandre
Now: After appearing with GoT alum Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in Domino, she has kept busy starring in drama-thriller Instinct as well as a recurring role in British series Temple and Dutch series Red Light. She'll soon appear in Starz's reboot of Dangerous Liaisons.
Then: Tywin Lannister
Now: This guy's always working, and considering that his character was killed off of GoT in 2015, he has continued to take on new projects, including Netflix's upcoming Neil Gaiman adaptation The Sandman alongside fellow GoT-er Gwendoline Christie and Starz's The Serpent Queen about French noblewoman Catherine de Medici. He's also slated to appear in upcoming futuristic sci-fi thriller film A Patriot.
Then: Grey Worm
Now: Staying in the fantasy realm but veering toward comedy, Anderson will star in upcoming British time-travel farce Timestalker.
Then: Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish
Now: Critics raved when he landed on A&E's Project Blue Book shortly after his Littlefinger character bit the dust in Season 7 of GoT, but after hanging with Angelina Jolie in Netflix's fire thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead he'll play writer James Joyce in upcoming film James and Lucia.
Then: Rob Stark
Now: Perhaps the most prominent victim of the Red Wedding episode in 2013, Madden has continued working and got plenty of acclaim for his portrayal as David on British series Bodyguard in 2018. He'll be in Marvel's blockbuster Eternals, but in 2022 he'll star with Stanley Tucci and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Amazon's spy thriller series Citadel, whose plot is being kept strictly under wraps.
Then: Tormont Giantsbane
Now: This busy guy has been appearing in myriad production since his wilding days on GoT, including an appearance in Netflix's The Witcher and the upcoming sci-fi comedy Distant. Interestingly, he's also set to join fellow GoT alum Pilou Asbaek in animated TV series Twilight of the Gods.
Then: Hodor
Now: We are completely down to see how Nairn plays into upcoming film Unwelcome about Londoners battling murderous goblins in rural Ireland - but we're also excited about how he'll play into upcoming HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death about an 18th-century landowner who allays his midlife crisis by becoming a pirate on the high seas.
Then: Theon Greyjoy
Now: One of the cast members who stayed busy with other projects even when GoT was on the air (remember his evil turn in John Wick? Oh yeah), Allen dazzled in HBO Max's The Murders at White House Farm and will soon play a chauffeur fighting for his life in Netflix's Night Teeth and upcoming British TV series SAS: Rogue Heroes.
Then: Samwell Tarley
Now: He'll hang with Jennifer Lopez for the upcoming comedy Marry Me, but fans are also understandably psyched for his upcoming sci-fi thriller Moonfall where he (along with Halle Berry) will try to save us from a knocked-off-course moon on a collision course with Earth. Samwell has come a long way, baby!
Then: Lord Varys
Now: What range. He's been busy with everything from young adult fare like Here Are the Young Men to British sci-fi thriller Infinitum: Subject Unknown. He's set to star in upcoming British series Holding about an Irish cop.
Then: Catelyn Stark
Now: After her throaty demise at the Red Wedding, Fairley stayed with theater work and TV projects ranging from Fortitude to The White Princess to The Feed and Gangs of London. We're intrigued by her upcoming film Nobody Has to Know in which she falsely convinces an amnesia patient that they are romantically linked.
Then: Septa Unella
Now: Unless you've been hiding under a Casterly Rock, you know that Waddingham famously humiliated Cersei in the town's square with her "shame, shame, shame" tactics before becoming one of the breakout stars of Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso, which recently entered its second season. But that's not all. Since departing GoT (thanks, Cersei), she's actually been plenty busy with roles on notable TV series like Krypton and Sex Education.
Then: Bran Stark
Now: His turn with Tye Sheridan and Lily-Rose Depp in sci-fi YA thriller Voyagers didn't set the world on fire, but we're intrigued by his involvement in the upcoming The Blue Mauritius about a Cape Town heist of the most valuable stamp in the world. Yes, stamp, not diamond. Get over it.
Then: Ramsay Bolton
Now: His evil GoT character thankfully went to the dogs in 2016, but Rheon has kept quite busy since then with movies and TV appearances, including the ill-fated Marvel series Inhumans and AMC series Riviera. But (get this), his next couple projects include a musical adaptation of The Magic Flute and a holiday comedy A Christmas Number One. Nice to see Ramsay stretching his wings.
Then: Walder Frey
Now: The mastermind of the Red Wedding has been busy since GoT, starring in FX series The Strain but also set to appear in upcoming series like the second season of Epix's Britannia, Netflix's After Life and animated features like Guillermo del Toro's highly anticipated Pinnochio and Netflix's TV animated series Wizards (Of course he's Merlin). Oh, and did you see him playing a very Frey-like character in Netflix's Jolt? He's everywhere!
Then: Gendry.
Now: He appeared in British comedy-drama Adult Material in 2020, but fans will soon meet his new character Nick in the upcoming Netflix thriller series Pieces of Her about a trip to the mall that explodes into violence and intrigue.
Then: Davos Seaworth
Now: He's up for anything, ranging from voiceover work with animation like Solar Opposites and Masters of the Universe: Revelation to a memorable turn as a kind-hearted Roman nobel in Epix's Domina. But most intriguing is his role in an upcoming Last Voyage of the Demeter about a ship carrying weird vampire cargo (based on a chapter in Bram Stroker's classic Dracula). Seaworthy as always, Mr. Seaworth.
Then: Podrick Payne
Now: After portraying Angus McDonald in Robert the Bruce, Payne is set to appear in the upcoming cold-case crime thriller Karen Pirie.
Then: Joffrey Baratheon
Now: Technically, Gleeson has retired from acting. But many think he'll eventually return. In 2020, he appeared in a couple episodes of British TV series Out of Her Mind - so hope springs eternal.
Then: Bronn
Now: He was set to be in Amazon's The Dark Tower adaptation before the streamer opted not to go foward with the series. But he'll soon appear in British science thriller film The Trick.
Then: Yara Greyjoy
Now: Since turning heads on The Murders at White House Farm (with onscreen GoT brother Alfie Allen no less) and BBC America hit Killing Eve in 2020, Whelan continues to churn out performances, including a role on the upcoming British TV series The Tower and voiceover work in upcoming video game Squadron 42.
Then: Tommen Baratheon
Now: He didn't have a lot of lines in GoT, but this short-lived king made one of the biggest splashes of his post-GoT brethren by starring as Lance Corporal Blake in the 2019 Oscar-nominated historical war drama 1917.
These days, he's appropriately set to appear in medieval adventure Catherine, Called Birdy with none other than Bella Ramsey, who played Lyanna Mormont on GoT. And he's also starring with Laura Dern, RuPaul and Donald Sutherland in upcoming film Ozi about an orphaned orangutan.
Then: Stannis Baratheon
Now: He died at the hands of Brienne of Tarth, but has since kept busy as a disgruntled would-be king. He appeared in IMDBtv's spy thriller Alex Rider, and will soon appear in another spy thriller: The Swedish film Red Election.
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Vladimir 'Furdo' Furdik
Then: The Night King
Now: Furdik is really more of a stuntman than actor, and he has fulfilled that role on several episodes of The Witcher since Arya Stark ended his character's uh... life in the final season of GoT. He's also a stunt actor on upcoming Jodie Comer-Matt Damon flick The Last Duel, as well as a stunt coordinator for the upcoming Italian vampire thriller Dampyr.
Then: Roose Bolton
Now: A notorious GoT character who helped make the Red Wedding happen, McElhatton has nonetheless branched out with TV series like The Rook, The Alienist and Das Boot - as well as an appearance in Zack Snyder's Justice League. But we're really looking forward to his turn as Jean de Merteuil in Starz's upcoming Dangerous Liaisons series where he'll act alongside GoT alum Carice van Houten.
