The Night King is one of the most important characters on Game of Thrones, but many fans are not even aware of what he looks like in real life.
Warning! Spoilers for Game of Thrones lie ahead!
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The Night King marched his Army of the Dead on Winterfell last weekend, and it turned out to be his final showdown against mankind. The icy villain was killed by Arya Stark, and his magically reanimated army fell with him. Now, in the wake of that dramatic battle, many fans are learning more Vladimir Furdik, the actor behind the cold stare.
Furdik has played the Night King since his first appearance in Season 3 of the series. He even appeared without his costume and makeup in Season 6, when Bran saw a vision of the Night King’s creation. There, the Children of the Forest slid a piece of enchanted dragonglass into Furdik’s chest, transforming him into the immortal leader of the undead.
In reality, Furdik is an actor, stuntman and choreographer with many credits outside of Westeros. He did stunts on Thor: The Dark World, Prometheus and Skyfall, among many other major movies and TV shows. These days, however, Furdik is best known for Game of Thrones, and he has embraced that popularity on social media.
Furdik has found a growing following on Instagram with his posts about Game of Thrones. He has given fans behind-the-scenes looks at his intricate make-up and costuming process, complete with some hilarious shots of himself acting normal in the eerie attire.
“My hardest and most beautiful day,” Furdik wrote alongside a photo of himself and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) in the climactic battle.
Furdik did not just do stunts on Game of Thrones, he choreographed and coordinated them in many cases, including the battle at the Tower of Joy. Judging by a recent Instagram posts, it may even have been Furdik under the helmet as Ser Arthur Dayne in the epic duel.
Furdik’s name was used against fans this week as they dug for meaning in the ending of the Battle of Winterfell. A fan Twitter account claiming to be Furdik began re-posting his pictures and videos, but adding unfounded claims about the episodes to come. One tweet even claimed that the Night King would be back, and another said: “Episode 4 is going to have a mysterious twist.”
These posts spawned many fan theories, and hope from those who did not want to see the Night King finished so quickly. However, it soon became clear that Furdik was not operating the Twitter account of releasing spoilers so hapharzardly. Still, on Thursday showrunners David Beniof and D.B. Weiss appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where they would not say whether or not the Night King was really finished. Furdik may be back on screen before the show is over later this month.
Game of Thrones airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
