Game of Thrones: A Tough Act to Follow

Killed-off after being a show regular is a tough act to follow.

Watch the video of every on-screen death below

The hugely popular Game of Thrones is one of the biggest and most expensive television shows in history, and it likes to kill off its favorite characters. Or, in some instances, entire families of favorite characters in a single episode!

The Red Wedding was such an episode and easily one of the biggest upsets ever to air on TV. Even the whole “Who Shot J.R.?” thing from the 80s paled in comparison.

Most actors would love to be part of the G.R.R Martin Game of Thrones‘ universe, or more specifically, the universe that’s been beautifully recreated by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. However, once you’ve been on the show and been accepted by its legions of fans, and then it’s time for your character to be brutally slaughtered in as horrific a way as possible. What do you do for an encore?!

At the foot of this article is a video that’s just over 6 minutes long and contains every single death from the first 4 seasons of Game of Thrones. The total number of deaths comes to an incredible 5373, compressed into only a few minutes! I’ve also attached clips of each character’s death.

Let’s take a look at the deaths of major characters, and see what the actors who played these parts are doing now. And it really should go without saying; this article is one giant spoiler.

Next Page (Season 3 & 4) >>

“Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant”

Season 1

King Robert Baratheon: Performed by Mark Addy, Robert Baratheon was a close friend and ally to Ned Stark. He and Ned fought and killed side by side, while securing Robert’s bid to claim the Iron Throne. When we first meet King Robert, he’s an overweight shadow of his former self, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Ned. He dies after his wife, Queen Cersei, makes sure he’s so drunk during a hunt that a wild boar mortally wounds him. Robert’s death marks the eventual annihilation of House Stark. Watch Robert’s death here.

Probably most famous for his character in The Full Monty, Mark Addy has been in 5 TV series since playing King Robert. The actor is currently looking for a new gig after Atlantis was recently axed in only its second season. Just before being cast as Robert Baratheon, Addy played Friar Tuck in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood.

Viserys Targaryen: The Beggar Prince, Viserys, was played by Harry Lloyd. Viserys, elder brother of Daenerys Targaryen, was a main character in the first season. He would die horribly at the hands of sister Daenerys’ new husband, the Dothraki Khal Drogo. Drogo poured molten gold on his head, after the unpleasant Viserys insisted on being crowned as the king of the Seven Kingdoms with the help of the Dothraki. Watch his death here.

Harry Lloyd would be another actor to appear in Robin Hood, only this was the TV show. Lloyd has been working steadily in both film and television and was recently in the Stephen Hawking bio, The Theory of Everything. It looks like being in Game of Thrones has helped Lloyd pick up more work.

Khal Drogo: The huge figure of Jason Momoa played the Dothraki Khal. He would take Daenerys Targaryen as his wife as part of a deal made by her brother. Drogo would die when a small scratch turned septic. Drogo successfully defended his Khalasar against a challenger who thought him unworthy for taking the advice of a mere woman. Watch Drogo die here.

Recently, Jason Momoa has hit the big time after landing the role of Aquaman. This means he’s now locked into at least 3 movies thanks to his character Aquaman/Arthur Curry being part of the Marvel universe. Momoa will be seen first in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Justice League Part One. Then the actor will star in the self-titled Aquaman. His career is certainly going in the right direction.

Eddard “Ned” Stark: Sean Bean is no stranger to being killed in movies and TV shows, and is arguably holder of the record for most on-screen deaths. (Watch Bean die in 21 films here.) Ned Stark’s death was the first really big shock for Game of Thrones‘ fans and would set the standard for future death events. Ned dies after a double-cross by the inbred King Joffrey Baratheon. Watch Ned being killed here.

Sean Bean has worked steadily for years, from Bond movie Goldeneye, to Lord of the Rings to Equilibrium. And, yes, he dies in all of them. Most recently he didn’t die in Jupiter Ascending, although, after the way it bombed hard, I’m sure he wished he had.

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Season 2

Ser Rodrik Cassel: Played by Ron Donachie, Rodrik Cassel was Winterfell’s Master-at-Arms. As well as being responsible for training Winterfell’s soldiers, Cassel personally taught Robb Stark, Jon Snow and the treacherous Theon Greyjoy, how to fight. Cassel would be beheaded by Theon after the turncoat took Winterfell by force. Watch Cassel die here.

The prolific Ron Donachie has been in a number of movies, with the 11 Oscar-winning Titanic being about the biggest. The actor is probably best known for the many TV shows he’s guest starred in, from Doctor Who to Downton Abbey. It would appear Donachie is content taking on small roles these days.

Renly Baratheon: The late King Robert’s youngest brother Renly was played by Gethin Anthony. After Robert died, the race was on to see who had the rightful claim to The Iron Throne. Most folk knew that the newly-crowned King Joffrey Baratheon was the result of Cersei’s and Jaime’s incestious coupling, making Joffrey nothing more than an inbred Lannister with extremely questionable parentage and no right to the crown. Renly died mysteriously, thanks to Melisandre performing a spell on behalf of the always smiling Stannis Baratheon Watch Renly’s death here.

Gethin Anthony has had a moderately successful career since his short-lived stint as king. The actor recently starred in the indie Copenhagen, but he has a very interesting project coming up, where he’ll play Charles Manson in the new TV series, Aquarius. David Duchovny will star. If this show takes off, it could be Anthony’s second chance at making a splash in Hollywood.