What These Killed Off Game Of Thrones Actors Look Like Today

Being cast on Game of Thrones can be a mixed blessing. On one hand, acting in HBO's hottest series can seriously boost your acting résumé. On the other hand, given the show's history, you're probably going to get killed off sooner or later—as this long list of casualties can attest. Here's a look at some of the major characters who have died on the show, and where the actors who played them are today. Warning: this article contains spoilers for every season of Game of Thrones. 

King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) met a gruesome end after a hunting trip gone wrong in season one, dying not long after a wild boar gashed him during a hunting expedition gone wrong — and prompting his best friend Ned Stark to take unwise action against Cersei and Joffrey. Since leaving Thrones, Addy has surfaced on several television series, including Great Expectations and The Syndicate. More recently, Addy appeared in the miniseries Jericho and the U.K. dramas Undercliffe and The Runaways.

Although Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) was dead essentially from the moment Mirri Maz Duur infected his wound with her poultices, his actual death was much more tragic, as Daenerys had to suffocate him with a pillow to put him out of his misery. His death forged her destiny, however, as it was on his funeral pyre in the season one finale that her dragons were born.

Momoa's brief Game of Thrones tenure served him well in Hollywood, with no shortage of projects on his docket since his departure from the hit series — most notably the DC Extended Universe, which he joined as the superhero Aquaman. His introduction as the character in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was followed by a much larger role in the 2017 Justice League movie, and his own standalone solo adventure in 2018's Aquaman. In 2020, he'll appear in Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune as swordmaster Duncan Idaho.

Ros (Esmé Bianco) went from being a Northern prostitute to Littlefinger's trusted assistant at one of his King's Landing brothels, but her increased station came with a price—Littlefinger discovered that she was spying on him for Varys, so he gave her to Joffrey. It all ended quite brutally for Ros, who was bound to Joffrey's bed frame and killed with several crossbow bolts in season three.

Since her gruesome Thrones demise, Bianco has appeared in the TV movies A Christmas Mystery and Ominous, as well as the television series The Magicians. Her recent film projects include Hypnotized, about people trapped under hypnosis when their hypnotist falls into a coma, and the found-footage vampire thriller Living Among Us.

The real-world inexperience of Robb Stark (Richard Madden) eventually did him in. By marrying Talisa, he made Lord Walder Frey his enemy, and Walder took his vengeance by having nearly the entire Stark/Tully wedding party (and their army) killed at the Red Wedding. The traitorous Roose Bolton delivered the killing blow, stabbing Robb in the heart.

Following his exit from GoT in 2014, Madden appeared in the series Medici: Masters of Florence and as the Prince in the 2015 live-action Disney adaptation of Cinderella, and the 2017 Amazon original series Oasis. 2019 sees him taking a major spotlight in Rocketman as John Reid, Elton John's partner in both business and romance.

Thankfully, Joffrey Baratheon's reign came to an early end. Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) married the widowed Margaery Tyrell, but a secret plot involving the Queen of Thorns, poison, and Sansa's jewelry ended with Joffrey lying on the ground, clawing at the air in vain as he choked to death at his wedding in season four.

Jack Gleeson retired from screen acting after Game of Thrones, but he remains involved in the arts. He founded Collapsing Horse Theatre Company in Ireland, which competed at the 2016 NYC Irish Festival; their play/puppet show Bears in Space was honored with an award.

The "Red Viper" Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) traveled to King's Landing in hopes of finding answers regarding the death of his sister Elia. Oberyn got more than he bargained for when he volunteered to fight for Tyrion during a trial by combat against Gregor in season four; he got the answer he wanted, but Gregor smashed his head like a grape not long after. Since Thrones, Pascal has starred in Graceland, Narcos, The Great Wall, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. His star power is only continuing to rise as he prepares to take the title role in the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian and an as-yet unidentified part in Wonder Woman 1984.

As Tyrion Lannister's lover, Shae (Sibel Kekilli) had to walk a fine line to avoid detection by Tywin or Cersei. Tyrion sent Shae away to protect her, which she took as a betrayal. To get revenge, she lied on the witness stand during his trial; during his escape in the season four finale, he found her in Tywin's bed chambers and strangled her with a golden chain he'd given her.

Following Game of Thrones, Kekilli returned to her recurring role in the German-language police drama Tatort and landed a part in the German film Im Feuer. Kekilli has also become famous in Germany for her activism against domestic violence: she delivered a speech on the topic from the German President's home in 2015 and was awarded a medal for her work by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. She could most recently be spotted on screen in the star-studded anthology film Berlin, I Love You.

The Princess Shireen (Kerry Ingram) has royal blood — which is why Melisandre insists on bringing the child with them when Stannis' army marches to Winterfell. Unfortunately, Shireen didn't live to see the end of that march; she was sacrificed by the Red Priestess in season five, when Melisandre convinced Stannis and his wife to let her burn Shireen at the stake for a blessing from the Lord of Light.

After her character's horrible fate on Game of Thrones, Ingram moved on to other television roles. She's appeared in the shows Wolf Hall, Doctors and Barbarians Rising, and can currently be seen in the Netflix original series Free Rein.

Myrcella (Aimee Richardson, Nell Tiger Free) was shipped off to Dorne for her safety by Tyrion back in the second season. Unfortunately, the death of Oberyn made Dorne a very unsafe place for her. When Jaime went to Dorne to retrieve her, Ellaria Sand gave Myrcella a farewell kiss sealed with poison. She died in Jaime's arms in season 6, shortly after revealing she knew he was her father.

Aimee Richardson played the role in seasons 1-2 before being recast with Nell Tiger Free for seasons 5-6. Since Game of Thrones, Aimee has grown up considerably — she's now 21 and appeared in the series My Mother and Other Strangers. Nell Tiger Free has only had the opportunity for one big-screen project: the movie Wonderwell, in which she co-stars with the late Carrie Fisher. She'll next be seen in the M. Night Shyamalan-produced series Servant.

As one of the Children of the Forest, Leaf (Kae Alexander) has witnessed thousands of years of Westeros history. In season six, the Night King attacked the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven, and Meera and Bran were forced to flee. To give them time, Leaf sacrificed herself, allowing the zombie wights to swarm her before she detonated a magical grenade, killing herself and many of the wights.

Alexander has kept herself busy since Game of Thrones — with roles requiring much less prosthetic makeup. You can catch her in One of Us, The White Room, Ready Player One, and the miniseries Collateral. In 2019, she'll appear in the Disney sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

As the youngest Stark child, Rickon (Art Parkinson) didn't get a lot of screen time before he and Osha separated from Bran's group in season three. They reappeared in season six as captives of Ramsay Bolton, and during the Battle of the Bastards, Ramsay set Rickon free, telling him to run to Jon Snow before firing on the boy. He nearly made it, but one of Ramsay's arrows struck, killing Rickon.

Parkinson has scored several roles since, including his 2016 stint voicing the title role in the animated film Kubo and the Two Strings and an appearance in the movie Zoo alongside fellow Thrones vet Ian McElhinney (Barristan Selmy). He can currently be seen on the U.K. police procedural series The Bay.

The politically savvy and whip-smart Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) nearly managed to resolve her family's issues with the Faith, but she underestimated the lengths Cersei would go in order to "protect" her son. In a pivotal scene from the season six finale, Margaery and much of her family — along with the High Sparrow — were consumed alive by Wildfire after Cersei put her plan in motion. Recently, Dormer lent her voice to the 2017 game Mass Effect: Andromeda and appeared in the miniseries Picnic at Hanging Rock and the films Patient Zero and In Darkness. Next, she'll be seen in the Penny Dreadful spin-off City of Angels and heard in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Netflix's follow-up to Jim Henson's fantasy classic.

Dame Diana Rigg was already an acting legend thanks to roles in films like On Her Majesty's Secret Service and TV series like The Avengers when she arrived on Game of Thrones, but she quickly carved out yet another legendary role for herself as the witty and dangerous Queen of Thorns, Lady Olenna Tyrell. When she finally met her end in the season 7 episode "The Queen's Justice," she was the last remaining major player in her house and she'd already done plenty of damage to the Lannisters. As Jaime Lannister forced her to drink poison rather than be tortured, she dealt once last blow and admitted she was the one who poisoned his son Joffrey at his own wedding. 

Since exiting Thrones, Rigg has continued to act, most recently as the Duchess of Buccleuch in the TV series Victoria and as Aunt Diana in the TV movie A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong. 

Aidan Gillen's Littlefinger remained among Game of Thrones' longest-serving and most frustratingly capable survivors right up until the end of season 7, when one of the great schemers in Westeros finally met his end. He seized power in the Eyrie, won favor with Sansa Stark, and then very nearly managed to turn the Stark children against each other when they were all finally reunited at Winterfell. Then, at long last, Arya and Sansa revealed that they had Littlefinger right where they wanted him, and Sansa executed him with his own dagger. It was one of the show's most satisfying deaths, and the end of one of the show's most persistent villains. 

Gillen's been in high demand ever since his work in the days of The Wire, and that hasn't changed since he left Thrones. As he was ending his time on that series, he joined the acclaimed series Peaky Blinders, played a role in Bohemian Rhapsody, and continued his work in The Maze Runner franchise. In January 2019 his new series Project Blue Book, about the U.S. government's hunt for UFOs, premiered on the History Channel. 

Benjen Stark has one of the more interesting arcs in the course of Game of Thrones' run. After appearing early in the first season and welcoming his nephew Jon (Kit Harington) to the Night's Watch, Benjen ventures out beyond the Wall and isn't heard from again until season 6, when he reveals to his nephew Bran and Meera Reed that he's now undead, having been stabbed by the White Walkers and then brought back from the brink by the Children of the Forest. He was never fully converted into a wight, which means he can fight for the living, but he's too far gone to cross back over the Wall and pass through its many enchantments, so he does what he can from the far North. In season 7, that includes sacrificing himself to the wights to save Jon, ending his watch once and for all. 

Outside of Game of Thrones, Joseph Mawle's career continues to gain traction. He was cast as Odysseus in in the 2018 TV series Troy: Fall of a City; he can also be seen as George Orwell in the biographical drama Mr. Jones, and alongside Richard Gere in the British drama series MotherFatherSon. 

The middle seasons of Game of Thrones told, among other things, the story of the North's disintegration into chaos, as the largest of the seven kingdoms shifted from steadfast bastion of honor and durability to a Bolton-led mess. When Jon and Sansa finally started putting the North back together under Stark banners, they met Lyanna Mormont, the pint-sized Lady of Bear Island, who ultimately proved to be one of the most effective and unflinching leaders the show has ever seen. In her final days, Lyanna refused to hide from the fight against the dead, opting to lead her men rather than take shelter from the battle, and she went down like a boss, stabbing an undead giant in the eye as he crushed her bones.

Game of Thrones was the world's introduction to young Bella Ramsey, and her acting career has steadily gained momentum ever since her debut on the show in 2016. Her other credits now include the title roles in the TV series Hilda and The Worst Witch, and this year she'll also co-star in two period drama films, the Judy Garland biopic Judy and the World War II drama Resistance.

Few characters on Game of Thrones have endured even half as much as Theon Greyjoy, and that's really saying something for a show like this. Raised in Winterfell as part of a peace agreement after his father's rebellion, Theon always existed between two houses and two very different moral codes. He tried to be more like a Greyjoy and steal Winterfell from under Robb Stark's nose, and eventually got himself captured, tortured, castrated, and dehumanized for his trouble. His journey back to redemption was long and full of false starts, but in his final three episodes of Game of Thrones, he managed to rescue his sister and restore her as the Lady of the Iron Islands, journey to Winterfell and volunteer to fight, and keep Bran safe from wights until the last possible moment. His death charge against the Night King himself only came after Bran Stark finally told him what he needed to hear: that he was a "good man."

Alfie Allen's career began at a young age, and before Game of Thrones he'd already landed roles in major films like Atonement and The Other Boleyn Girl. Since the show, he's continued to land high profile work in films like John Wick and The Predator, and he'll soon be seen in the films Jojo Rabbit (directed by Thor: Ragnarok's Taika Waititi) and How to Build a Girl.

Ser Jorah Mormont is one of Game of Thrones' longest-surviving supporting characters. He showed up in the very first episode at Daenerys Targaryen's wedding to Khal Drogo, and has remained a key player in her story ever since. Loyal to and in love with Daenerys, Jorah braved everything from exile to a perilous journey through the ruins of Old Valyria to a Greyscale infection. It took Samwell Tarly's study skills and courage to cure him of that disease, but he made his way back to Daenerys and her service, and when all seemed lost at the Battle of Winterfell, it was Jorah who fought to save her until his very last breath. Only after the dead fell did he too give up, leaving his beloved Khaleesi to fight on.

Iain Glen's screen acting credits stretch back more than 35 years, and before Game of Thrones he was seen in everything from Darkness to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider to Kingdom of Heaven. The same year that the series debuted, he also made several appearances on the hit series Downton Abbey, and since Game of Thrones, he's landed roles in everything from the Jack Taylor films to Delicious. This year, he'll also add a superhero to his resume, playing Batman/Bruce Wayne in the second season of the DC Universe original series Titans.

Poor Missandei of Naath. Though we had a few moments to take it in, her capture and subsequent death seemed to almost come out of nowhere in an episode that was largely devoted to setting up the battle between Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister. After years of loyal service to Daenerys, the woman who freed her and made her a woman of power and influence in her court, Missandei finally seemed to be on the verge of true freedom. She and her lover Grey Worm had survived the battle with the Army of the Dead, and now they just had to survive one more fight before they could leave the wars of Westeros behind them. Now, with one stroke of Gregor Clegane's sword, Cersei has wiped all of that away, and Daenerys is ready for fire and blood. 

Don't worry about Nathalie Emmanuel, though. Since joining Game of Thrones she's landed roles in both the Fast & Furious and The Maze Runner franchises, and now that her time on the series is over she'll have plenty more to do. We'll next see her in not one but two different TV series: A TV adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral and the new Dark Crystal series, Age of Resistance. 

Euron Greyjoy once said "life is boring" when Cersei asked him why he took so many risks, and the commander of the Iron Fleet held onto that philosophy right up until the very end. With his fleet in ruins thanks to Daenerys and Drogon, Euron somehow managed to make it to shore beneath the Red Keep, where he found Jaime Lannister trying to sneak his way to Cersei. Euron did what Euron does, and challenged Jaime to a fight. He mortally wounded the Kingslayer, but Jaime could not be deterred, and ultimately buried a sword in Euron's chest. He died as he lived: arrogant to the last, claiming that he'd killed Jaime Lannister. 

Pilou Asbaek has built up an impressive resume in his first decade of screen acting. Before Game of Thrones, he had credits on The Borgias, 1864, and many more. Since Game of Thrones, he's been seen in films like Overlord and Ghost in the Shell, and he'll next been seen in Project X-Traction and Run Sweetheart Run. 

In some ways, Ser Gregor Clegane has been dead for some time. The monstrous Mountain That Rides seemed to be on the brink of death by poison after his fight with Oberyn Martell (which he won at the last second) in season 4, only to be resurrected through some dark, unknown means by Cersei Lannister's hand, Qyburn. Since then he's been a mute, always threatening presence by Cersei's side, killing and torturing on her behalf but never seeming to act on his own wishes. That is, until "The Bells," which saw Gregor's brother Sandor return to King's Landing with a lifetime's worth of revenge on his mind. Defying his queen's command to stay with him, Gregor fought his brother to the death, until they both crashed through the walls of the Red Keep and into the dragonfire below. 

A former basketball player, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson's chief occupation for the last decade has been as a strongman competitor. He is the reigning World's Strongest Man, having won that competition in 2018, and the 2018 and 2019 champion at the Arnold Strongman Classic. His time on Game of Thrones is done, but we'll likely be seeing him again very soon, performing some massive feat of strength outside of the acting world. 

Jaime Lannister and Cersei Lannister always seemed destined to go down together in one way or another. In love since they were children, the twin Lannisters sacrificed, fought, and made terrible decisions on behalf of each other and their secret family throughout Game of Thrones, and much of the bloodshed on the show stems from those very decisions. Jaime's journey was one of constantly struggling between what was right and what he would do for love, and though he seemed to be swaying in the direction of redemption by the end, all roads eventually led him back to Cersei. With no way out of the Red Keep's cellars as the castle fell around them, Jaime declared the only thing left was for them to have each other at the very end. 

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau broke out in his native Denmark and then in Europe as a whole before joining the cast of Game of Thrones, and his eight seasons on the show helped to make him a truly international star. During the show's run he's co-starred in films like Oblivion and Gods of Egypt, and he'll next be seen in the films Domino and Suicide Tourist. 

At the beginning of Game of Thrones' final season, it felt like we'd lose just about every major character we know and love for the sake of the story, as contender after contender fell to pave the way to the Iron Throne. In the series finale, with numerous major characters still standing, it turned out there was only one life left for the show to take.

After Daenerys Targaryen's burning of King's Landing in "The Bells," she came to the throne room of the Red Keep hopeful that she could continue to show the world that she really was a liberator, and the show took great pains to convince the audience that she really and truly believed she was doing the right thing. Jon Snow also felt he had to do the right thing, though, and in the end that meant plunging a knife into the heart of the woman who was his lover, his aunt, and his queen.

Game of Thrones brought Emilia Clarke worldwide stardom that she's since parlayed into films like Me Before You, Terminator Genisys, and Solo: A Star Wars Story, and more opportunities will continue to flow for her. She'll next be seen in the drama Above Suspicion and the romantic comedy Last Christmas.