‘Game of Thrones’ Lord Varys Looks Very Different in Real Life

Many of the Game of Thrones stars look different in real life. However, Conleth Hill, who portrays Lord Varys on the HBO drama, is almost entirely unrecognizable when he isn’t in costume.

When the 52-year-old actor is portraying Varys, a character also referred to as the Spider, he has a shaved head. However, on a day-to-day basis, Hill has a full head of hair. The drastic difference in his appearance often gets people “freaked out,” he says.

“It’s funny, because I wasn’t bald for 47 years before I did this, so [my hair] is normal to me,” Hill said while talking with Business Insider. “But other people get freaked out by the hair.”

Hill says that there are advantages to not being as easily recognizable when he isn’t filming GOT.

“I’m not so conspicuous when I’m not on set, since I look so different year round. My hair grows back fairly fast after shooting, so I’m not hounded at home,” he said.

Much like Hill, the actress that portrays Lady Olenna Tyrell, Diana Rigg, looks entirely different as well. See her photos here.

At San Diego Comic-Con this year, Hill spoke out about one of the most highly anticipated moments in Game of Thrones. See his response below.

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for the current season of Game of Thrones. Read ahead at your own risk…

In the third episode of Season 7, Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen finally get together in the same room. The meeting between the two leaders wasn’t the warmest of greetings, but Hill thinks that it could have been much worse.

“They’re both headstrong kids,” he said. “They’ve been the leader of their own pack for so long, and there’s, of course, a history of bad blood between their families. But they managed not to kill each other.”

Hill continued by saying that there was one factor that kept all the tensions from rising through the roof.

“It was ice and fire really. I think Tyrion’s temperature control helped a lot. I don’t think it went as badly as it could have. Had their character’s met earlier, they might have pulled a knife or had a fight. I think they’re just getting to the stage now where the future of the world is more important than any ego trip they might have had,” he said.

Be sure to tune into the next episode of Game of Thrones on Sunday at 9/8c on HBO.