This week’s episode of Game of Thrones revealed the fate of the Night King, and many fans are now wondering who plays the frozen fiend.
Warning: Game of Thrones Spoilers Ahead
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The Night King has been played by stuntman and actor Vladimír Furdík since Season 6 of the show.
Furdik has appeared in fantasy films such as Thor: The Dark World and The Huntsman: Winter’s War, so the world of Westeros is obviously nothing new to him.
Prior to Furdik taking over the role, the Night King was played by actor Richard Brake, who played the leader of the White Walkers for Seasons 4 and 5 of the show.
Earlier this year, Furdik spoke with EW about his role, and shared a little of what fans could expect from the final season of GoT. Notably, he revealed that the Night would have his sights set on the destruction of one specific character.
“People will see he has a target he wants to kill, and you will find out who that is. There’s also that moment [in “Hardhome”] when Jon Snow was on the boat and the Night King looked at him and raised his arms — there’s a similar and even stronger moment between Jon and the Night King this time,” Furdik stated.
We now know that the Night King’s “target” was Bran Stark, whom he failed to kill.
Furdik then went on to share some insight into the mind of the Night King, offering what he sees as the villain’s motivation.
“Somebody made him the Night King. Nobody knows who he was before — a soldier or part of [nobility]. He never wanted to be the Night King. I think he wants revenge,” Furdik said. “Everybody in this story has two sides — a bad side and a good side. The Night King only has one side, a bad side.”
Finally, when asked how he came to be cast in the role, Furdik replied, “I don’t really know why they cast me.”
“When we did season 5, I was the White Walker who fought Jon Snow [in “Hardhome”] — the first time Jon Snow killed a White Walker, that was me. After that, [showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] asked if I’d play the Night King for seasons 6 through 8. I never asked why. Maybe they were happy with what I did in season 5,” he explained.
Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
