Game of Thrones starts with a simple setup. King Robert Baratheon rides north to ask his oldest friend, Ned Stark, to be his Hand. Ned goes south to King's Landing, and within a season the realm is at war. Meanwhile, across the sea, the last heirs of the deposed Targaryen dynasty plot a return, and beyond the Wall in the far north, something much older is waking up.
The show ran on HBO from 2011 to 2019 and was known for its huge cast and its willingness to kill anyone. The clearest way to keep track of who's who is by family, because in Westeros your house tells you most of what you need to know: where you're from, who your enemies are and what your words mean. This guide works through the great houses first, then the Night's Watch, the power brokers at court, and the White Walkers.
- Created by
- David Benioff and D. B. Weiss
- Based on
- A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
- Network
- HBO
- Run
- 2011–2019, 8 seasons, 73 episodes
- Prequels
- House of the Dragon; A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
House Stark
The Starks rule the North from Winterfell. Their words are "Winter is Coming," their sigil is a direwolf, and each of the children gets a direwolf pup in the first episode. When the family is scattered across the world in season one, most of the show's storylines follow one of them.
Eddard "Ned" Stark
Lord of Winterfell · Hand of the King
Ned is stern, honest and devoted to his family, and he hates the south. He agrees to serve as Robert's Hand partly to find out who killed the previous one. In King's Landing his sense of honour makes him easy to read and easy to outplay, and what happens to him at the end of season one tells you exactly what kind of story this is.
- Actor
- Sean Bean
Catelyn Stark
Lady of Winterfell · Born a Tully
Catelyn is Ned's wife and a fierce, sometimes rash protector of her children. She never accepts Jon Snow, whom she sees as a reminder of Ned's infidelity. Her decisions in the first seasons, including arresting Tyrion on a hunch, have consequences far beyond what she intends.
- Actor
- Michelle Fairley
Robb Stark
Ned's heir · King in the North
Robb is the eldest son, thrust into leadership when his father is arrested. He proves a brilliant battlefield commander and is declared King in the North. He's brave and decent, but he makes one promise he doesn't keep, and in Westeros that matters.
- Actor
- Richard Madden
Sansa Stark
Ned's elder daughter
Sansa begins as a romantic girl who wants to marry a prince and live in a song. She gets that wish in the worst possible way, as Joffrey's betrothed and then hostage in King's Landing. Years of surviving cruel men teach her how power actually works. By the final seasons she's one of the shrewdest political players in the show.
- Actor
- Sophie Turner
Arya Stark
Ned's younger daughter
Arya would rather learn swordplay than embroidery. Her small sword is called Needle, a gift from Jon. Separated from her family in King's Landing, she spends years on the road, recites a list of people she wants dead every night, and eventually trains with the Faceless Men, a guild of assassins in Braavos. Her direwolf is Nymeria.
- Actor
- Maisie Williams
Bran Stark
Ned's second son
Bran is a climber who falls from a tower in the first episode, after seeing something he shouldn't, and loses the use of his legs. He has strange dreams and slowly learns he can see through the eyes of animals and into the past. His journey north of the Wall turns him into the Three-Eyed Raven, a being who seems less and less like the boy he was.
- Actor
- Isaac Hempstead Wright
Jon Snow
Ned's illegitimate son · Night's Watch
Jon is raised at Winterfell as Ned's bastard, never quite part of the family. He joins the Night's Watch at the Wall, rises through its ranks, and becomes the first to take the threat of the dead seriously. He's honourable like Ned and often just as unwilling to bend, which costs him dearly. His direwolf is the white Ghost, and his parentage is the show's longest-running secret.
- Actor
- Kit Harington
Rickon Stark
Youngest Stark
The youngest child, barely a toddler in season one. He spends most of the series offscreen, in hiding with the wildling Osha.
- Actor
- Art Parkinson
Theon Greyjoy
Ward of Winterfell · Heir to the Iron Islands
Theon was taken from the Iron Islands as a boy and raised by Ned as a hostage. Torn between the Starks and his real family, he makes a disastrous choice and suffers terribly for it. His path back is one of the show's most painful redemption arcs.
- Actor
- Alfie Allen
House Lannister
The Lannisters of Casterly Rock are the richest family in Westeros. Their official words are "Hear Me Roar!", but everyone knows the unofficial ones: "A Lannister always pays his debts." Through Cersei's marriage to Robert, they sit right beside the throne when the story begins.
Tyrion Lannister
The youngest Lannister · Hand of the King
Tyrion is a dwarf, the youngest son of Tywin, and the family member his father and sister despise most. He's also the cleverest person in most rooms. He drinks, reads and talks his way out of trouble, and when he's given real power he turns out to be a capable, humane ruler. His wit makes him the show's most quotable character, and his loneliness makes him one of its most sympathetic.
- Actor
- Peter Dinklage
Cersei Lannister
Queen, wife of Robert Baratheon
Cersei is proud, intelligent and furious at a world that wouldn't let her inherit power because she's a woman. Her one soft spot is her children, and nearly everything she does is framed as protecting them. She's ruthless, often impulsive, and a formidable political enemy for anyone who underestimates her.
- Actor
- Lena Headey
Jaime Lannister
Knight of the Kingsguard · "The Kingslayer"
Jaime is Cersei's twin, a brilliant swordsman, and infamous for killing the king he was sworn to protect, the Mad King Aerys. He's arrogant and cruel in the first season. Then a long journey as a prisoner with Brienne of Tarth reveals why he did it and starts one of the show's most admired character turns. His bond with Cersei is the thing he can never quite break.
- Actor
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Tywin Lannister
Lord of Casterly Rock
Tywin is the cold, calculating head of the family and the most effective strategist in the early war. He cares about the Lannister legacy above any individual Lannister, and he makes no secret of his contempt for Tyrion. Many of his best scenes are quiet conversations, often while doing something else entirely.
- Actor
- Charles Dance
Joffrey Baratheon
Crown prince, then king
Joffrey is Cersei's eldest son and the heir to the throne. He's spoiled, sadistic and cowardly, and when he gains real power he uses it to humiliate and hurt people for fun. He was written to be hated, and audiences obliged.
- Actor
- Jack Gleeson
Tommen and Myrcella Baratheon
Cersei's younger children
Gentle, kind and caught between powerful adults. Myrcella is sent to Dorne as a political bride; Tommen inherits more than he can handle.
- Actor (Tommen, later seasons)
- Dean-Charles Chapman
Bronn
Sellsword
A mercenary who fights for Tyrion because the pay is good, and later works alongside Jaime. Honest about being dishonest, and one of the show's most reliable sources of dry comedy.
- Actor
- Jerome Flynn
House Targaryen
The Targaryens ruled Westeros with dragons for three hundred years until Robert's Rebellion overthrew them. Their words are "Fire and Blood." The survivors are two children who grew up in exile across the Narrow Sea.
Daenerys Targaryen
Exiled princess · Mother of Dragons
Daenerys starts the show as a frightened teenager, sold by her brother in marriage to a Dothraki warlord. She finds her strength among the Dothraki, hatches three dragons (Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion) from eggs thought to be stone, and builds an army in Essos by freeing slaves. Her conviction that she was born to rule and to break the old order is inspiring and, as the story goes on, increasingly worrying.
- Actor
- Emilia Clarke
Viserys Targaryen
Daenerys's older brother
Viserys is the self-styled rightful king, a bitter young man who believes the world owes him a throne. He treats his sister as a bargaining chip and threatens her constantly. He's a portrait of the family's worst traits without any of the power that once excused them.
- Actor
- Harry Lloyd
Khal Drogo
Dothraki warlord · Daenerys's husband
Drogo is a fearsome horselord who has never been defeated. He barely shares a language with Daenerys at first, and their marriage begins badly. It becomes a real partnership, and he's the reason she first imagines herself as a leader.
- Actor
- Jason Momoa
Jorah Mormont
Exiled knight · Daenerys's adviser
Jorah is a northern lord exiled for selling poachers into slavery. He becomes Daenerys's most devoted adviser and is quietly in love with her. He's also hiding a secret from her, and his loyalty is tested by it for years.
- Actor
- Iain Glen
Missandei
Translator · Daenerys's adviser
A former slave who speaks many languages and becomes Daenerys's closest confidante. Her romance with Grey Worm is one of the few tender relationships in the show.
- Actor
- Nathalie Emmanuel
Grey Worm
Commander of the Unsullied
The leader of Daenerys's army of freed slave-soldiers, disciplined and loyal. He chooses to keep the name he was given as a slave, because it was the name he had when she freed him.
- Actor
- Jacob Anderson
Daario Naharis
Sellsword captain
A flamboyant mercenary who switches sides to fight for Daenerys and becomes her lover in Meereen.
- Actor (seasons 4–6)
- Michiel Huisman
House Baratheon
The Baratheons hold the throne when the story begins. Their words are "Ours is the Fury." Robert's death leaves two brothers, Stannis and Renly, each claiming the crown.
Robert Baratheon
King of the Seven Kingdoms
Robert won the throne in battle and has spent the years since eating, drinking and ignoring the realm's debts. He's loud, funny and still mourning Lyanna Stark, the woman he was meant to marry. He loves Ned like a brother, and he is utterly unsuited to peacetime rule.
- Actor
- Mark Addy
Stannis Baratheon
Robert's younger brother · Claimant to the throne
Stannis is rigid, humourless and absolutely convinced the law makes him king. He's not charming and doesn't try to be. Under the influence of the red priestess Melisandre, his single-minded pursuit of the crown leads him to choices that are very hard to forgive.
- Actor
- Stephen Dillane
Renly Baratheon
Robert's youngest brother
Charming and popular, Renly claims the throne on the grounds that people like him better. His relationship with Loras Tyrell is an open secret.
- Actor
- Gethin Anthony
Davos Seaworth
The Onion Knight · Stannis's Hand
Davos is a former smuggler knighted for smuggling food to Stannis during a siege, then punished for his smuggling by losing the tips of his fingers. He's honest, humble and the most decent adviser in the show, and he later becomes a key ally of Jon Snow.
- Actor
- Liam Cunningham
Melisandre
Red priestess of R'hllor
Melisandre serves the Lord of Light and believes Stannis is a prophesied saviour. Her magic is real and frightening, and she's willing to make terrible sacrifices for her faith. Later seasons show what happens when her certainty cracks.
- Actor
- Carice van Houten
Gendry
Blacksmith's apprentice · Robert's bastard
A blacksmith's apprentice in King's Landing who doesn't know who his father was. He travels with Arya and becomes an important friend to her.
- Actor
- Joe Dempsie
The Night's Watch and the wildlings
The Night's Watch guards the Wall, a vast barrier of ice on the northern border. Its brothers swear off land, titles and marriage for life. Beyond the Wall live the free folk, whom southerners call wildlings, and something far worse.
Samwell Tarly
Jon's best friend in the Watch
Sam is a gentle, bookish young man sent to the Wall by a father who was ashamed of him. He's no fighter, but his reading and curiosity turn up crucial knowledge about the White Walkers and Jon's past. His friendship with Jon is one of the steadiest in the show.
- Actor
- John Bradley
Gilly
Wildling woman · Sam's partner
A wildling girl Sam helps escape her abusive father, Craster. She becomes Sam's partner and, when she learns to read, makes a discovery that matters a great deal.
- Actor
- Hannah Murray
Ygritte
Wildling warrior
Ygritte is a red-haired spearwife who captures Jon and falls for him. She's funny, fierce and very quick to point out that he knows nothing. Their romance puts Jon's loyalties under real strain.
- Actor
- Rose Leslie
Tormund Giantsbane
Wildling leader
Tormund is a loud, boastful warrior who goes from Jon's enemy to his close ally. He's famous among fans for his tall tales and his open admiration for Brienne.
- Actor
- Kristofer Hivju
Mance Rayder
King-Beyond-the-Wall
A deserter from the Night's Watch who united the wildling clans. He wants to bring his people south of the Wall before winter and the dead reach them.
- Actor
- Ciarán Hinds
Power brokers and other houses
Some of the most important characters have no armies at all. Others come from houses that drift in and out of the main story.
Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish
Master of Coin
Littlefinger is a minor lord who rose through cleverness, and he runs brothels on the side. He believes chaos is a ladder, and he keeps climbing it by playing everyone against each other. His long fixation on Catelyn, and then on Sansa, drives much of his scheming.
- Actor
- Aidan Gillen
Varys
Master of Whisperers · "The Spider"
Varys runs a network of informants he calls his little birds. He insists he serves the realm, not any particular ruler. His sparring conversations with Littlefinger and Tyrion are some of the sharpest writing in the series.
- Actor
- Conleth Hill
Brienne of Tarth
Knight · Sworn sword to the Starks
Brienne is a tall, skilled warrior mocked her whole life for not being a lady. She serves with complete sincerity: first Renly, then Catelyn, then her daughters. Her slow-building friendship with Jaime is one of the show's best relationships.
- Actor
- Gwendoline Christie
Sandor "The Hound" Clegane
Joffrey's bodyguard
The Hound is a scarred, cynical killer who despises knights and the lies they tell. His face was burned by his brother as a child. His reluctant travels with Arya bring out a protective side, and he's one of the show's most unexpectedly loved characters.
- Actor
- Rory McCann
Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane
Lannister enforcer
The Hound's enormous, brutal older brother, used by the Lannisters to terrorise their enemies. He was played by three actors; Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson took over from season four.
Margaery Tyrell
Rose of Highgarden
Margaery is a skilled, warm-seeming political operator who keeps marrying into the crown. She wins the common people over with charity and handles Joffrey better than anyone. Cersei sees her as a direct threat.
- Actor
- Natalie Dormer
Olenna Tyrell
The Queen of Thorns
Margaery's grandmother and the real power behind House Tyrell. She's tart, funny and much more dangerous than she appears.
- Actor
- Diana Rigg
Oberyn Martell
The Red Viper of Dorne
Oberyn comes to King's Landing in season four with a long-held grudge against the Lannisters over his sister's murder. He's charismatic, sensual and lethal with a spear, and his short time on screen made a huge impression.
- Actor
- Pedro Pascal
Ramsay Bolton
Roose Bolton's bastard son
Ramsay is a sadist who enjoys hunting and torturing people, and the show's cruellest villain after Joffrey. His treatment of Theon and his later claim on Winterfell make him one of the Starks' worst enemies.
- Actor
- Iwan Rheon
Walder Frey
Lord of the Crossing
An old, petty, much-married lord who controls a vital river crossing and never forgets a slight.
- Actor
- David Bradley
Yara and Euron Greyjoy
Theon's sister and uncle
Yara is a tough, loyal ironborn captain who never gives up on her brother. Euron is her reckless, boastful uncle, who seizes the Iron Islands and allies with Cersei.
- Actors
- Gemma Whelan and Pilou Asbæk
Jaqen H'ghar
Faceless Man
A mysterious prisoner who owes Arya three deaths and later trains her in Braavos.
- Actor
- Tom Wlaschiha
The High Sparrow
Leader of the Faith Militant
A humble, barefoot religious leader who builds a movement among the poor and turns it against the nobility. Cersei arms him and quickly regrets it.
- Actor
- Jonathan Pryce
The White Walkers and the dead
The show's first scene is beyond the Wall, and the threat it introduces hangs over every war in the south.
The Night King
Leader of the White Walkers
The Night King is a silent, ice-crowned figure who can raise the dead to serve him. The show gives him an origin that isn't in the books: he was created by the Children of the Forest as a weapon against the First Men. He never speaks, which makes him the opposite of every chattering schemer in King's Landing.
- Actor
- Richard Brake (seasons 4–5), Vladimír Furdík (seasons 6–8)
White Walkers and wights
The army of the dead
White Walkers are ancient, intelligent ice creatures, vulnerable to dragonglass and Valyrian steel. Wights are the dead they raise: humans, animals and eventually worse.
Game of Thrones cast list
| Character | Actor | House / faction |
|---|---|---|
| Ned Stark | Sean Bean | Stark |
| Catelyn Stark | Michelle Fairley | Stark / Tully |
| Robb Stark | Richard Madden | Stark |
| Jon Snow | Kit Harington | Stark / Night's Watch |
| Sansa Stark | Sophie Turner | Stark |
| Arya Stark | Maisie Williams | Stark |
| Bran Stark | Isaac Hempstead Wright | Stark |
| Theon Greyjoy | Alfie Allen | Greyjoy |
| Tyrion Lannister | Peter Dinklage | Lannister |
| Cersei Lannister | Lena Headey | Lannister |
| Jaime Lannister | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau | Lannister |
| Tywin Lannister | Charles Dance | Lannister |
| Joffrey Baratheon | Jack Gleeson | Baratheon / Lannister |
| Daenerys Targaryen | Emilia Clarke | Targaryen |
| Jorah Mormont | Iain Glen | Targaryen ally |
| Khal Drogo | Jason Momoa | Dothraki |
| Robert Baratheon | Mark Addy | Baratheon |
| Stannis Baratheon | Stephen Dillane | Baratheon |
| Davos Seaworth | Liam Cunningham | Baratheon ally |
| Melisandre | Carice van Houten | Red priests |
| Petyr Baelish | Aidan Gillen | Court |
| Varys | Conleth Hill | Court |
| Brienne of Tarth | Gwendoline Christie | Tarth |
| The Hound | Rory McCann | Clegane |
| Samwell Tarly | John Bradley | Night's Watch |
| Tormund Giantsbane | Kristofer Hivju | Free folk |
| Margaery Tyrell | Natalie Dormer | Tyrell |
| Oberyn Martell | Pedro Pascal | Martell |
| Ramsay Bolton | Iwan Rheon | Bolton |
Major deaths and fates (spoilers)
- Ned Stark is beheaded on Joffrey's orders in season one, episode nine, the moment that told audiences no one was safe.
- Robb and Catelyn Stark are murdered at the Red Wedding in season three, a massacre arranged by Walder Frey and Roose Bolton.
- Joffrey is poisoned at his own wedding feast in season four.
- Tywin is shot with a crossbow by Tyrion in season four. Oberyn dies in a trial by combat against the Mountain the same season.
- Jon Snow is stabbed by mutineers of the Night's Watch at the end of season five and brought back to life by Melisandre in season six. His true parentage is revealed as Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen.
- Ramsay is fed to his own hounds by Sansa after the Battle of the Bastards.
- The Night King is killed by Arya during the Battle of Winterfell in season eight.
- Cersei and Jaime die together beneath the Red Keep as Daenerys burns King's Landing.
- Daenerys is killed by Jon after the burning of the city. Bran is chosen as king, Sansa becomes queen in the North, Arya sails west, and Jon returns north beyond the Wall.
Few shows have used death as deliberately. Our guide to character deaths looks at why Ned's execution in particular changed how TV audiences watch.
What the characters are really about
Game of Thrones is about power: who has it, what it costs to keep it, and how often honourable people lose to clever ones. It sets up mirrored pairs again and again. Ned and Tywin are two ways to lead a family. Jaime and Brienne are two ideas of what a knight is. Sansa and Cersei both learn politics from cruel men and reach very different conclusions. Daenerys and Jon are both convinced they're doing the right thing.
That's why the show's best rivalries, Tyrion and Cersei above all, feature in our iconic rivalries guide, and why characters like Jaime and the Hound are good examples in the anti-hero guide. It's also a model of the point-of-view structure covered in ensemble casts.
Where to start
- Game of Thrones (2011–2019) — start with season one. The first few episodes introduce a lot of names; this page and the house groupings help.
- House of the Dragon (2022–) — a Targaryen prequel set about two hundred years earlier. You can watch it without the main show, but it's richer if you know how the family ends.
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — a smaller-scale prequel based on Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, following a hedge knight and his young squire.
- The books — A Song of Ice and Fire goes further than the show in many subplots and differs in places, especially in the later seasons, which outran the published novels.
If you like large, morally grey casts, Breaking Bad and The Boys are good next stops.
All Game of Thrones character names A–Z
A–B
- Arya Stark — Stark
- Bran Stark — Stark
- Brienne of Tarth — Knight
- Bronn — Sellsword
C–D
- Catelyn Stark — Stark
- Cersei Lannister — Lannister
- Daario Naharis — Sellsword
- Daenerys Targaryen — Targaryen
- Davos Seaworth — Onion Knight
E–G
- Euron Greyjoy — Greyjoy
- Gendry — Blacksmith
- Gilly — Free folk
- Gregor Clegane — The Mountain
- Grey Worm — Unsullied
H–J
- The High Sparrow — Faith
- The Hound — Clegane
- Jaime Lannister — Lannister
- Jaqen H'ghar — Faceless Man
- Joffrey Baratheon — King
- Jon Snow — Night's Watch
- Jorah Mormont — Exiled knight
K–M
- Khal Drogo — Dothraki
- Littlefinger — Court
- Mance Rayder — Free folk
- Margaery Tyrell — Tyrell
- Melisandre — Red priestess
- Missandei — Translator
- Myrcella Baratheon — Baratheon
N–R
- Ned Stark — Stark
- The Night King — White Walkers
- Oberyn Martell — Martell
- Olenna Tyrell — Tyrell
- Ramsay Bolton — Bolton
- Renly Baratheon — Baratheon
- Rickon Stark — Stark
- Robb Stark — Stark
- Robert Baratheon — King
S–T
- Samwell Tarly — Night's Watch
- Sansa Stark — Stark
- Stannis Baratheon — Baratheon
- Theon Greyjoy — Greyjoy
- Tommen Baratheon — King
- Tormund Giantsbane — Free folk
- Tyrion Lannister — Lannister
- Tywin Lannister — Lannister
V–Y
- Varys — Court
- Viserys Targaryen — Targaryen
- Walder Frey — Frey
- Yara Greyjoy — Greyjoy
- Ygritte — Free folk
Frequently asked questions
Who is the main character in Game of Thrones?
There isn't a single lead. The show follows several point-of-view characters, as the books do. Ned Stark looks like the hero in season one; after that, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark and Sansa Stark carry most of the story, with Cersei and Jaime Lannister close behind.
How many characters are in Game of Thrones?
Hundreds have speaking parts over eight seasons, but around thirty make up the core cast. This page covers the main and most important supporting characters, grouped by house and faction, plus an A–Z list.
Who are Jon Snow's real parents?
Spoiler: Jon is the son of Lyanna Stark, Ned's sister, and Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys's older brother. Ned raised him as his own illegitimate son to protect him. His birth name is Aegon Targaryen, which gives him a strong claim to the Iron Throne. The show confirms this in seasons six and seven.
Who sits on the Iron Throne at the end of Game of Thrones?
Spoiler: after the Iron Throne itself is destroyed, the surviving lords choose Bran Stark as king of the Six Kingdoms, with Tyrion as his Hand. Sansa becomes queen of an independent North.
What are the main houses in Game of Thrones?
The most important are Stark (Winterfell, the North), Lannister (Casterly Rock, the West), Targaryen (the exiled dragon dynasty), Baratheon (the ruling family at the start), Tyrell (the Reach), Martell (Dorne), Greyjoy (the Iron Islands), Tully (the Riverlands), Arryn (the Vale), plus the Boltons and Freys.
Is House of the Dragon connected to Game of Thrones?
Yes. House of the Dragon is a prequel set about two centuries earlier, during a Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. It shares the world and some family names but none of the main characters.