| Character | Actor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Maester Aemon | Peter Vaughan | The long-serving Maester of the Night’s Watch was born Aemon Targaryen – the last known Targaryen in Westeros. His casting vote saw Jon Snow elected Lord Commander of the Watch. Master Aemon died as Snow fought Walkers north of the Wall. |
| Lord Petyr Baelish | Aidan Gillen | Brothel keeper and political dabbler, Baelish is among the best connected men in Westeros. He was introduced to viewers as Master of Coin on King Robert Baratheon’s Small Council and later conspired to assassinate horrid King Joffrey. Catelyn Stark was his one true love. He would later wed her sister Lysa Tully and push her to her death as she turned on Catelyn’s daughter Sansa. By dint of the marriage he is now Lord Protector of the Vale and regards Sansa as an ally he can woo. |
| Joffrey Baratheon | Jack Gleeson | A product of the incestuous relationship between Queen Cersei and Kingsguard warrior Jaime Lannister and, even by Game of Thrones standards, irredeemably unpleasant. A bully and a braggart, Joffrey crumpled into a snivelling wreck when Stannis Baratheon’s forces surrounded King’s Landing. His marriage to Margaery Tyrell was short-lasting, with dreadful Joffrey dispatched by poison before the wedding feast was completed. |
| Myrcella Baratheon | Nell Tiger Free | Joffrey’s sweet and naive younger sibling, Myrcella was a rare carrier of Lannister blood who seemed not to possess a calculating side. Not that it did her any good. Shipped off to Dorne by her uncle Tyrion for an arranged marriage into House Martell she was poisoned by Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes as retribution for the death of Oberyn Martell. |
| Renly Baratheon | Gethin Anthony | The younger brother of King Robert and Stannis Baratheon, Renly was also the secret lover of Ser Loras Tyrell. He could be cunning and, with Robert dead, wisely urged Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell to kidnap Joffrey and rule the Seven Kingdoms. A political marriage to Margaery of House Tyrell was intended to boost his claim to the throne – an ambition that came undone when Stannis and Melisandre send a shadow demon to kill him. |
| Robert Baratheon | Mark Addy | The once dashing leader of House Baratheon who toppled the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen and claimed the Iron Throne. In his later years Robert sank into gluttony and lechery and endured a heartless political marriage to Cersei Lannister. He never stopped pining for his true love, Ned’s sister Lyanna Stark. Robert died in a stag hunt, having been fed super-potent wine by Cersei. |
| Stannis Baratheon | Stephen Dillane | Robert’s younger sibling was a man of principle – but one also fatally seduced by Red Witch Melisandre and her prophecy that the Lord Of Light had marked him for greatness. He demonstrated courage and strategic skill in almost defeating the Lannisters at the Battle of the Blackwater and later toppled the Wildling King Beyond the Wall Mance Rayder. But burning his daughter Shireen was a sacrifice too far and, with his forces deserting him, he was defeated by the Boltons at Winterfell. |
| Tommen Baratheon | Dean-Charles Chapman | As short-lived boy King of Westeros, wide-eyed Tommen was easily manipulated by both his wife Margaery and scheming mother Cersei. His indecision allowed the conflict between Cersei and the Sparrows spiral out of control. With Margery perishing in Cersei’s destruction of the Great Sept, he calmly jumped from his window. |
| Ramsay Bolton | Iwan Rheon | The utterly loathsome Ramsay was the illegitimate product of a union between Roose Bolton (not very likeable either) and a peasant woman raped by Roose after she wed without his permission (the husband he had hanged). A rotten apple that didn’t fall very far from the tree, Ramsay tortured Theon Greyjoy with sociopathic glee and similarly mistreated arranged bride Sansa Stark. After killing his father, step mother and half-brother, he lost the Battle of the Bastards to Jon Snow and was fed by Sansa to his own, peckish hounds. |
| Roose Bolton | Michael McElhatton | Having owed fealty to House Stark, Bolton enjoyed his moment of betrayal. "The Lannisters send their regards," he cackled, plunging a dagger into pregnant Talisa Stark. But as Lord of Winterfell he failed to install loyalty and few grumbled when he was cut down by heir Ramsay. |