The Game of Thrones world shows fans a lot of death — and thus, a lot of actor turnover. While some characters like Sean Bean's Ned Stark or Mark Addy's Robert Baratheon will never truly be forgotten, other characters who have died on Game of Thrones or haven't been the focus in a while can be difficult to remember. George R. R. Martin's complicated world of Westeros and beyond has many moving parts and even more characters, so it's understandable that as the show is working on Season 6, fans can't keep track of every single character who has stepped out of the Game of Thrones spotlight.
For the most part, the characters on Game of Thrones who are easily forgotten are the ones who have died. Yes, they are sometimes brought up in conversation with living characters or their death was the impetus for a lot of insane action to occur, but the body count on Game of Thrones is too enormous to keep up with. While some of the characters on this list may not have been completely forgotten, a little refresher of who they were is usually needed to piece the intricate puzzle of Game of Thrones together.
But rather than just recap what these characters did, I want to know what life is like for an actor post-Game of Thrones. (Even if I don't think that's something Kit Harington really needs to worry about right now.) Here are 12 Game of Thrones characters you (probably) forgot existed, and what the actors who portrayed them are doing now.
1. Viserys Targaryen, Portrayed By Harry Lloyd
Although he was one of the major foils in Season 1, the older brother of Daenerys Targaryen, Viserys, didn’t last long on Game of Thrones, thanks to Daenerys’s husband Khal Drogo (who also died in Season 1, but I just assume no one could forget him). Actor Lloyd has made light of the fact that he hasn’t been taking center stage since his Game of Thrones fame in his web series Supreme Tweeter, which includes cameos from Martin and Maisie Williams. But the actor played Stephen Hawking’s best friend in the film that nabbed Eddie Redmayne an Oscar, The Theory of Everything, and is still a fan of the show — he provided commentary on Game of Thrones for Vulture in April.
2. Gendry, Portrayed By Joe Demspie
Although I didn't completely forget Gendry existed, I find myself not remembering where he has been in recent seasons. Robert Baratheon's blacksmith bastard son was last seen escaping from Melisandre in Season 3 with the help of Davos. As he took a rowboat to King's Landing, he could arrive with a potential claim to the throne. In real-life, actor Dempsie was recently in the British miniseries New Worlds and you can follow him on Twitter if you want to look for evidence of when he may return to the HBO show.
3. Irri, Portrayed By Amrita Acharia
Irri was a handmaiden to Daenerys in Season 1 and taught her the language and culture of the Dothraki. She stayed devoted to Daenerys after the birth of her dragons, but was killed in Season 2 at Qarth, an event which did not follow her storyline from the book. The actress Acharia, with Nepalese and Ukrainian heritage, can speak four languages and has kept busy since leaving the HBO show with films like Camouflage and the Norwegian I Am Yours.
4. Edmure Tully, Portrayed By Tobias Menzies
Although the Red Wedding is one of the most memorable scenes in Game of Thrones history, who was actually getting married isn’t always crystal clear in my brain. Catelyn, Robb, and Talisa Stark were all killed at the nuptials of Catelyn’s brother Edmure Tully to Walder Frey’s daughter Roslin Frey. He hasn't been seen since the massacre, but is presumably still alive and being held captive by Walder Frey. Actor Menzies was no stranger to the industry and he wasted no time joining another epic fantasy show in the dual role of Frank and Jack Randall on Starz's Outlander. But fans of Edmure and Menzies shouldn't fret since Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin told The Hollywood Reporter he wants the actor to return to the show.
5. Renly Baratheon, Portrayed By Gethin Anthony
With the death of Stannis Baratheon (most likely) being confirmed, the three Baratheon brothers are all dead. King Robert was the first to go, but his younger brother Renly was murdered soon after by a shadow that Stannis's witch advisor Melisandre summoned in Season 2. Although Renly was a big character and important to the plot, it's easy to forget that he was the reason we were introduced to the Tyrells and Brienne of Tarth. Anthony went back to American TV with David Duchovny in Aquarius, where Anthony played cult leader Charles Manson.
6. Ros, Portrayed By Esmé Bianco
Ros, the sex worker from Winterfell who traveled to King's Landing to work in the more prestigious Littlefinger brothel, was the number one character that fell prey to Game of Thrones' "sexposition." The character was created for the TV show and suffered a gruesome death at the hands of Joffrey. Since Ros is as dead as you can get in the Game of Thrones world, actress Bianco has moved onto a new series — Syfy's The Magicians , which will be out in 2016.
7. Rodrik Cassel, Portrayed By Ron Donachie
The actions of the proud and devoted warrior to the Stark family, Rodrik Cassel, are now a distant memory. Yet, Rodrik's epic beard braid is what keeps his memory vaguely alive for me and Rodrick was killed by Theon Greyjoy when he took over Winterfell. Actor Donachie wasn't a newbie when he joined Game of Thrones (he was in Titanic and Doctor Who before GoT ) and he's kept busy working since his character's death with bit parts in other notable TV series like Downton Abbey and Shameless.
8. Syrio Forel, Portrayed By Miltos Yerolemou
Arya Stark ended Season 5 of the series using her badass fighting skills to take down Ser Meryn Trant, against the wishes of the Many-Faced God. Trant was the first person on her kill list since she blamed him for killing her sword-fighting instructor, Syrio Forel. Syrio was a memorable character, but didn't last long in the series and was dead by Season 1. You don't need to feel too bad for the man who portrayed him though. Yerolemou will be joining fellow Game of Thrones fighter, Gwendoline Christie, for a small role in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens and he was also in the miniseries Wolf Hall (which featured other GoT alum Lloyd).
9. Mordane, Portrayed By Susan Brown
Mordane was the septa of Winterfell who took care of Arya and Sansa Stark in King's Landing during Season 1. While I didn't always like the lessons Septa Mordane taught the young Stark girls, she died protecting Sansa after Ned was arrested. Since Brown's character died, she has been in the films Belle and The Iron Lady, as well as in the TV series Broadchurch with David Tennant.
10. Maester Luwin, Portrayed By Donald Sumpter
Another devoted person to House Stark was Maester Luwin, who took care of the Stark boys, Bran and Rickon, in Winterfell after their parents left the North. While Theon didn't kill Luwin like he killed Rodrik, Theon's right-hand man (another character I totally forgot, Dagmer) betrayed Theon and killed Luwin. But at least Luwin knew Bran and Rickon were still alive before his death. Sumpter has been in numerous miniseries since Game of Thrones (like SundanceTV's One Child), but he was also in the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo around the same time as his Game of Thrones appearance.
11. Marillion, Portrayed By Emun Elliott
Marillion is most well-known for being the troubadour who got his tongue cut out by order of Joffrey after singing a disrespectful song. Although Emun Elliott's character was very small in the Game of Thrones universe, the actor has moved on to be in big feature films like Prometheus and Exodus: Gods and Kings and the British TV series The Paradise .
12. Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Portrayed By Nonso Anozie
As a woman with power to benefit from, Daenerys has had more potential spouses than many of the Game of Thrones characters. Xaro proposed to Daenerys in Qarth, but she listened to Jorah Mormont's advice and denied him, which was the right call since he stole her dragons and betrayed her. His immense wealth was also a lie, and Daenerys locked him in his own vault with her handmaiden that also betrayed her, Doreah. Although he portrayed a bad guy, Anozie has been doing pretty well for himself in movies like Cinderella, Ender's Game, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and the upcoming Pan. He's also been in TV series in America, like Dracula, Tut, and Zoo.
While some of Game of Thrones alum have seen more success than others, they can sleep soundly knowing their time of torment is over on the harrowing HBO show — and just be fans like the rest of us.
Images: HBO (12)
