We don’t know about you, but we are dying to see what the characters from Game of Thrones look like in real life. With winter on its way, and the new season upon us, let’s celebrate all the women on the show, and see what they look like in real life, compared to their characters as the seasons have progressed. You’ll be surprised at how many of them are really friends in real life too, and that warms our hearts.
You might not recognize some of the characters without their luscious locks and hair gel and makeup, these photos are a lot of fun. We even love how some of the co-stars have found love on the show and the incredible relationships they have forged all these years on. With all the excitement over the coming series, take a look at these wonder women.
Nell Tiger Free
Many of the fans were heartbroken and truly mourned for the death of princess Myrcella Baratheon when she was killed off the show. English actress Nell Tiger Free, who played Myrcella in the HBO series truly wowed over viewers with her role.
The English actress has also released an album called Long Drives and Sunsets, which is comprised of five alternative/indie tracks. She used to date her fellow co-star Dean Charles Chapman.
Lena Headey
Headey is a British actress, most iconic for her character of Cersei Lannister. For this role, she has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. Headey first made her big screen appearance in Waterland (1992), and has carried on featuring in British films and on television.
She also had leading parts in The Brothers Grimm (2005) and 300 (2007) Ripley’s Game (2002), Dredd (2012) The Purge (2013), and 300: Rise of an Empire. We cannot wait for her in the final season.
Sibel Kekilli
Kekilli appeared as a guest star in the show’s primary season, and has since become one of the show’s regular characters. The German native portrays the character of Tyrion Lannister’s mysterious, lover, Shae. She reached international recognition and fame for this role.
She stated that she is ‘proud of the way women are portrayed on the show’, claiming that Shae is one of these strong women.” She feels that women are equal to men, and that isn’t always the case in shows.
Indira Varma
Indira Varma is a British actress who made her first debut on the big screen in Kama Sutra, and then went to feature in The Canterbury Tales, and the Netflix series Paranoid.
In Game Of Thrones, she plays the role of Ellaria Sand, the paramour of Prince Oberyn Martell. Originally, she came onto the show as a guest character in the fourth season, and became part of the main cast in the fifth season.
Carice Van Houten
Carice Van Houten is an acclaimed Dutch actress, who has won many awards for her talents. In Game of Thrones Van Houten played the role of Melisandre of Asshai. Speaking of her role she said “I’m [Stannis’] right hand. I manipulate him. I take the decisions for him almost. I wouldn’t say I’m a very sympathetic character. I have a great wig, great red hair. I hope I did it right”.
There are many wigs used on set, and among the 30 or so hair pieces that the characters’ wear, they can cost up to $7,000 each! She is amazing in her wig we wonder if she misses it off set.
Kerry Ingram
Kerry Ingram plays Princess Shireen Baratheon in the show. She appeared in the third, fourth, and fifth seasons until her untimely death, which fans were in uproar about. Ingram started her career in musical theater when she was nine. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for her role as “Matilda” in Matilda the Musical.
She also has a small part in the renowned film Les Misérables. Speaking of her final scene, she stated: “It was such a different experience, nothing I’ve ever done before. And yeah, I was sad when the scene finished filming. I wish I could do it again.”
Natalie Dormer
Natalie is a British actress, and plays the role of Margaery Tyrell in Game Of Thrones, starting from season 2. Speaking of her character she stated: “I find, about Margaery: ‘Oh, she’s another malicious, calculating character who’s after the Throne.’”
Before the show, she was an actress in her own right, starring as Anne Boleyn in the very acclaimed program The Tudors. She was also in The Hunger Games last two films. In the show, she wears a brown wig, however in real life, she actually has blonde hair. She is stunning both on screen and in real life.
Esme Bianco
Bianco said goodbye to a burlesque career when she became the fiery redhead, Ros, fighting her way to a position of power within The King’s Landing brothel. The 29-year-old English actress was only supposed to appear in just the pilot, creating intrigue with the viewers, as they never know what to expect from her character.
“No matter where any of the characters think they’ve gotten to in terms of power, there’s always somebody that’s willing to beat them down”.
Diana Rigg
Rigg has been acting since 1965 and is an acclaimed actress, first making her stage debut for the Royal Shakespeare Company. She received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Olenna Tyrell in GOT.
Diana RiggAlso known as “The Queen of Thorns, the season 6 finale was quite monumental for the character.
Hannah Murray
Hannah Murray first got her start on the screen portraying Cassie Ainsworth in the UK teen series Skins. For this she gained a BAFTA award, and was chosen for GOT in 2012. She has also been nominated with her castmates for two SAG awards.
Hannah MurrayShe plays the part of Gilly, one of Craster’s many daughters. Let’s see what season 8 brings for Gilly. When not filming, Hannah enjoys quiet time and laying low.
Maisie Williams
The now 23-year-old was just 14 when she won her leading role in Game of Thrones. Off the screen, the fire-cracker is actually best friends with her co-star Sophie Turner and will be her bridesmaid when she marries her fiancé Joe Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers.
She is also a passionate advocate about the problems with social media, and admits that she gets trolled just as much as anyone. She will appear in a channel 4 drama called Cyberbully.
Rose Leslie
In 2012 Leslie got the part in GOT from season two onwards. On set, she and Kit Harrington fell in love and the fans went wild. Nobody could get enough of the two of them together.
They announced that they had got engaged in 2017 and in June 2018 they got married in Scotland, in a castle owned by her family. In 2016, Leslie starred in The Good Fight, a CBS drama.
Hannah John Kamen
Hannah is an English actress, in Game Of Thrones, she plays the character of Ornela, who is part of the Dosh Khaleen and takes a liking to Daenerys Targaryen.
She only appeared in two episodes of the show, but has also starred in a range of box office hits, including a role in Star Wars The Force Awakens and Ant-Man and the Wasp, and an episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror.
Natalia Tena
The British actress and musician has a lot of credits to her name, such as the film About A Boy with Hugh Grant, and The Harry Potter film series.
She also sings in a band and plays the accordion. In the series Game Of Thrones, she plays the character Osha, when originally she was just supposed to be a guest star but was kept on and returned through to the fourth.
Nell Williams
Nell’s character in Game Of Thrones is the young Cersei Lannister in season 5 for the flashback scenes. Due to her young age, before filming she had never even see the show or read the books, she tried to read them but said they were too long.
Speaking of the role she said “I think the importance of this scene is making sure the audience knows how she became the person she is. And that was really interesting to do.”
Tara Fitzgerald
Tara is a British actress, and has featured in the TV series The Camomile Lawn and Waking The Dead. She joined the cast of Game Of Thrones in its third season playing the character of Selyse Baratheon.
Tara FitzgeraldShe spoke of when a fan saw her “He hugged me, lifted me off the ground and swung me round, saying: ‘It’s you, isn’t it?” “It was one of those amazing sweet moments that I didn’t expect to be having at this stage in my life.”
Keisha Castle- Hughes
The Australian born, New Zealander has not only appeared in GOT as Obara Sand from season 5, but since the show, she went on to appear in Star Wars Episode III and also had a small cameo in The Walking Dead.
Keisha Castle- HughesShe was even nominated for an Academy Award for best actress in her role for Whale Rider, when she was only 13 years old, making the youngest nomination at the time. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
Aimee Richardson
Aimee Richardson is a Northern Irish actress who rose to fame after playing Georgina in Miss Conception, a romantic comedy in 2008. In 2011 she got her chance to shine, receiving her role in Game Of Thrones playing the character Myrcella Baratheon, but she only lasted two seasons after being exiled.
After the show, she also featured in The Sparticle Mystery in 2016 and another television show My Mother And Other Strangers.
Sophie Turner
The blonde beauty won over fans in her television debut of Game of Thrones, playing one of the main characters Sansa Stark. She turned down a career as a ballerina to be an actress, and she has proven herself so far.
The now 22 year old is currently engaged to singer Joe Jonas, and is best friends with co-star Maisie Williams, frequently showing off pictures on her Instagram page with the hashtag #mofie. We can’t wait for the wedding.
Nathalie Emmanuel
Nathalie Emmanuel is an English actress, mostly known for her role on the British soap opera Hollyoaks. In Game Of Thrones, she joined in the third season as Missandei, continuing into season 4. Emmanuel was later promoted as a main member of the cast for seasons 5 and 6, becoming a true fan favorite.
Nathalie has also featured in Furious 7, the seventh addition to the The Fast and the Furious franchise as well as the latest release of The Fate of the Furious where she reprises her character of the computer hacker, Ramsey.
Gwendoline Christie
British actress and model Gwendoline Christie won the fans over in Game of Thrones, and became a show favorite depicting the character Brienne of Tarth. When choosing the right actress for the part, the director stated: “We looked at a dozen actresses who were reading for Brienne, and one actress who WAS Brienne.”
Since the show, she has also featured in in the new Star Wars trilogy, playing Captain Phasma, also in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Christie has also made appearances in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and The Hunger Games.
Emilia Clarke
The British actress has been playing the role of Daenerys Targaryen, for the last eight years, gracing the screens with Jason Momoa in season one which made the fans go wild. She wears a wig, but in real life, the brunette beauty looks quite different.
Since the show, the accomplished actress has featured in Box office hits such as Star Wars, and Me Before You. She also received a whopping six SAG award nominations for Outstanding Performance for GOT.
Rosabelle Laurenti Sellers
New York City native, Rosabelle Laurenti Sellers was cast as one of the Sand sisters. She played Tyene Sand, one of Prince Oberyn’s eight illegitimate daughters.
While she did not have a huge role on the show, she definitely made an impact as she and her two other sisters began to wreak havoc in Westeros.
Ellie Kendrick
With so many characters to keep track of on Game of Thrones, it’s no surprise that actress Ellie Kendrick’s character, Meera Reed became one of the most memorable.
Meera was Jojen Reed’s eldest sister, and she was with Bran for most of the seasons. Kendrick can be seen in the 2020 series Cobra.
Jessica Henwick
Another sister of the Sand clan, Nymeria Sand played by English actress Jessica Henwick became another force to be reckoned with. Nymeria and her sisters were always being sent on missions by their mother Ellaria.
Henwick has since gone on to establish herself as a writer, and will star in the upcoming Matrix reboot.
Jonathan Pryce
There were a lot of different elements to Westeros, from dragons to religion. The High Sparrow was the head of the Sparrows, a religious sect that slowly began to take over King’s Landing.
Jonathan Pryce played the character, and he looks completely different in real life, from the hair to the glasses.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Certain Game of Thrones characters had the ability to make viewers love and hate them at the same time. Jaime Lannister, twin brother to Cersei was one of them.
Minus the golden hair in the first couple of seasons, actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau looks almost identical to his character. The only major difference is that he has two hands, instead of one.
Pedro Pascal
Pedro Pascal is one of those actors that continues to land starring roles, with his latest being Mando in Disney’s The Mandalorian. As Prince Oberyn Martell, he created some much needed comic relief in an otherwise very serious show.
In reality, Pascal and his character Oberyn look a tad different, with Pascal opting for a clean shaven look.
Jack Gleeson
No king is perfect, but when it came to King Joffrey Baratheon nobody would claim that he was one of Westeros’ best. Naturally, King Joffrey met his end, and actor Jack Gleeson acted it out to perfection.
Gleeson is nothing like his character on the show, both in personality and in looks. He’s regularly seen smiling, which is something Joffrey rarely did.
Gemma Whelan
Whelan is a British actress and comedian, also a jazz and tap dancer and trained in musical theatre. The talented individual was cast as the fierce and proud character of Yara Greyjoy in Game Of Thrones.
She started from the second season and became a recurring cast member from then onwards, with the season finishing as she is led in chains through King’s Landing. She lives in London with her husband and two year old child.
Kit Harington
Jon Snow has to be one of the most conflicted characters to grace the small screen. Each episode had him facing one trial after another.
There also didn’t seem to be a lot of baths over at the Night’s Watch, which meant Jon had a tendency to look a tad greasy. Actor Kit Harington definitely looks like a cleaned up version of Jon.
Jacob Anderson
With so many characters to navigate between, the series didn’t get to fully develop each character. Grey Worm played by actor Jacob Anderson, was an integral member of Queen Daenerys’ retinue, but we never got to really know him.
Anderson is much more of an open book, and prefers to wear bespoke suits rather than armor.
Alfie Allen
Theon Greyjoy went through some pretty tough times in the series, but eventually he reached his full potential – like all of the characters. Theon had a tendency to look unbathed, and always wore torn up clothing on the show.
British actor Alfie Allen, prefers to dress-up like a dapper gentleman, and definitely errs towards clean cut, rather than ragamuffin like Theon.
Daniel Portman
Every knight needs a squire, and that is where Podrick Payne entered the picture. Tyrion Lannister made sure that Podrick accompanied him all throughout his adventures.
Podrick never looked unruffled, which is exactly what actor Daniel Portman looks like. There was no makeup needed for this transformation.
Michelle Fairley
Michelle Fairley is an Irish actress, who has appeared in many top movies, and is widely acclaimed. You may also recognize her as the mother of Hermione Granger in the final two Harry Potter movies.
In GOT she plays the part of Catelyn Stark, replacing Jennifer Ehle, She was chosen for the particular part, after directors saw her play “Lady Macbeth” in a play opposite Ewan Mcgregor. She is a well-loved character.
Aiden Gillen
Petyr Baelish or ‘Little finger’ as he was known throughout Westeros, was always scheming and trying to win the hand of Sansa Stark. He seemed to derive all of his power from his goatee, which leant him a rather devilish edge.
Actor Aiden Gillen shaved off his goatee when he wasn’t onset, which definitely changed his look.
Peter Dinklage
Peter Dinklage is one of the greatest actors of our time, and he was able to really flex his acting chops with the role of Tyrion Lannister.
Tyrion was something of a fashionista, and always wore the latest in Westeros fashion. Dinklage on the other hand, is much more lowkey and down to earth style wise.
Faye Marsay
Faye is an English actress, predominantly acting on stage and on screen. She is most recognized as Anne Neville in The White Queen, and also featured in Doctor Who. In Game Of Thrones, she plays the Waif in both seasons 5 and six.
After fans took the show very seriously, they often commented on her social media about her character, which led her to famously quit her social media pages in 2016.
Conleth Hill
Actor Conleth Hill who plays Lord Varys is almost unrecognizable from his character. Where Varys has a shaved head, Conleth prefers to rock a shock of white hair.
The actor also has one of those faces that appears trustworthy, whereas Varys looks like all he does is keep secrets up the sleeves of his robe.
