If you watch Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, there’s a chance that you’ve noticed some familiar faces. Actually, upwards of 35 familiar faces, and those are just the more reoccurring characters. If we went to background characters, the list would probably never end!
The big joke is “Britain only has 10 actors”. And the more you watch British TV, the more you will a crossover of actors, especially in bigger productions. And what’s bigger than the world’s longest sci-fi and the most popular television show in the world right now!
We know about the wonderful Maisie Willaims, playing Lady Me, but who else? While you might not see Emilia Clarke or Kit Harrington on this list (yet!) there are many familiar faces you will see on this list, both as a Game of Thrones fan, a Doctor Who fan, or both!
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1. Samantha Spiro
Many of us will remember Hazran, the woman who fought to save children from the hive of Cyberman at the bottom of the ship where the Masters were. Not only was she a badass through the last episode of season ten, she wasn’t going to stop until she got a taste of Nardole! Who knows what will happen while they’re guarding five floors up, hopefully, safe and away from the Cybermen.
But that’s not the first place she was seen in television phenomena. She was seen briefly by Samwell Tarly when he returned home with his wildling girlfriend Gilly on the way to Oldtown to become a maester. Melessa Tarly was the only one to show her son any respect, despite his appearance, while his father said he lacked the abilities of a common man. Unfortunately, we know that karma got the best of the Tarly household in the latest season.
In both roles, Samantha Spiro played a woman that showed compassion and demanded respect by knowing who she was. In Game of Thrones, she wasn’t afraid to tell her husband when he was dishonoring his household, and in Doctor Who, she fiercely protected the children from the Cybermen.
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2. Maisie Williams
In another Game of Thrones/Doctor Who mashup, Maisie Williams played a large part in Doctor Who’s season nine as Ashildr and Lady Me. In fact, Ashildr, the first character that Williams plays is a lot like a young Arya Stark — a young girl who wants more than what her life has given her. And, like Arya, she gets more than Ashildr gets more than she imagines.
To save her life, the Doctor makes her immortal using Time Lord technology and gives her an extra one. In the next episode that we see her, Ashildr has completely changed. Like Arya, the experiences her life has handed to her has completely changed and jaded her. Lady Me, as she began to call herself, became a robber and stopped believing in anything.
Maisie Williams does an amazing job showing the turmoil of Ashildr and the amazing change of the character as she lives throughout her lives and watches the people she loves break away from her. We always wonder what it’s like for the Doctor, who lives years past his companions, but the real tragedy was seeing someone who was on Earth, living through the centuries by herself.
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3. David Bradley
David Bradley has played well-known characters that have been the head of huge plot changes on both shows. With Christmas coming up, we’re all excited to see Bradley’s version of the First Doctor. Everyone seems to be incredibly happy with his version of the iconic first generation of the character, as well as his portrayal of the actor, William Hartnell.
However, if you’re more of a Game of Thrones fan, you might cringe when you see him. David Bradley played Walder Frey, head of the Frey family. He’s also responsible for the infamous Red Wedding, where he killed many favorite characters after an oath was broken with Robb Stark. Because Stark broke the oath and married Talisha instead of one of the Frey daughters, Walder Frey conspired with the Lannisters and killed Catelyn, Robb, Talisa, and put a huge retreat on the Stark army.
In both shows, David Bradley brings a beautiful performance. There couldn’t be more of a difference between the two roles — playing the horrible Walder Frey and the lovable actor and Doctor — but Bradley has amazingly been able to pull it off. We’re very excited to see him at Christmas.
4. Dame Diana Rigg
It seems that so many actors who are guest stars on Doctor Who or Game of Thrones specialize in being incredibly versatile. Dame Diana Rigg is another actress in a long line of people who have been both shows, and she is no exception. In Doctor Who, she played Winifred Gillyflower, in the episode The Crimson Horror, written by Mark Gatiss.
In The Crimson Horror, the Paternoster Gang try to figure out why people are turning up with red skin and petrified like statues, especially when they can see that the last thing the corpse saw was the Doctor. It turns out that Winifred Gillyflower is building an idyllic town to help people survive the apocalypse. In the end, she’s actually planning to kill the people of England with red leech poison, something that had been used since the Silurians were on the Earth.
While she played an outright villain on Doctor Who, her role on Game of Thrones was more sneaky. She stood behind her granddaughter, Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) through everything. Always there to make sure that her granddaughter is treated right, fans love Riggs’ portrayal of Olenna Tyrell. Unfortunately, her time as the character was up this past season as her character finally met her downfall to Jaime Lannister with open arms.
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5. Roger Ashton-Griffiths
Roger Ashton-Griffiths plays Mace Tyrell, the son of Olenna Tyrell and the father of Margaery and Loras. He also served on the Small Council until the end of season six, when he was killed in the Sept of Baelor. He’s not an incredibly known character in the Game of Thrones television series, besides the fact that the Lannisters used the Tyrells for their money. Most of the drama went through Olenna Tyrell, who was much more of a badass.
In Doctor Who, you might have to remember the episode, but he plays a small part in Robots of Sherwood. Maid Marian was his ward, and before she was sent to help build for the robots, his character was killed because he wouldn’t be able to do the work.
There are no small parts, only small actors. And admittedly, Roger Ashton-Griffiths is a little short as well.
6. Mark Gatiss
When it comes to screen time, Mark Gatiss definitely has had more on the Steven Moffat side. Despite the fact that this is a Doctor Who site, I’ll make a note to say that Gatiss is probably most known for his role of Mycroft Holmes and writer on Doctor Who. It’s not 100% the same as everyone else, but he has definitely held his own on the Doctor Who side. He’s also played many uncredited characters, but the one he’s most known for is Professor Lazarus from the Lazarus Experiment in season three.
But he’s also played many characters that people would never realize. He was the voice of Danny Boy the pilot in A Good Man Goes to War, as well as Gantok in The Wedding of River Song. Having an in with the showrunner of Doctor Who has definitely helped gain Gatiss a couple notches on the Doctor Who belt, so to speak.
As for the Game of Thrones side, you will recognize Mark Gatiss as the Iron Bank representative Tycho Nestoris. At first, he only appeared in a few scenes, but this season the Iron Bank became more important. They were the reason for the iconic fight that occurred on the Tyrells’ land, and now the reason Cersei has the mercenaries fighting on her side. Looks like Mark Gatiss is moving on to what could be bigger roles on Game of Thrones, now that Steven Moffat has stepped down from running Doctor Who.
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7. Thomas Brodie-Sangster
A huge part of Game of Thrones is the storyline following Bran and his quest to be the Three-eyed Raven. Which, he became and then turned into a huge fortune cookie saying generator. He couldn’t have become this fortune cookie teller without the help of the Reeds, faithful and loyal to the Starks.
Jojen (Brodie-Sangster) and his sister helped Bran and Rickon escape when Theon Greyjoy took over Winterfell and threatened to hurt them. After that, the show followed the siblings and Bran, Rickon and Hodor as they traveled beyond the Wall to find the three-eyed raven. Jojen eventually died once they reached the tree.
In Doctor Who, Brodie-Sangster played Tim Latimer in Human Nature, an incredibly special episode of season three where the Tenth Doctor showed us how the Fob Watch worked. We watched as the Time Lord lived a life thinking he was human, and fell in love, only to be pulled back when needed. Tim Latimer played a little boy who went to the school who had telepathic abilities. He was bullied by an older boy who happened to be played by another familiar face….
8. Harry Lloyd
This face is a hard on to forget, even without the yellow hair. On Game of Thrones, Harry Lloyd played Viserys, the brother of Dany Targaryen. He enjoyed emotionally abusing Dany and mocking the Dothraki. Once he saw that Daenerys was getting better attention than he ever saw from people telling him that toasts were whispered in secret, he tried to take it away from Daenerys too.
But
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Khal Drogo killed Viserys by putting melted gold on his head, giving him the crown he always wanted. Viserys’s death is a classic “be careful what you wish for”.
On Doctor Who, he appeared in Human Nature as well, as a Jeremy Baines, a boy who bullied Tim Latimer. He didn’t play a very large role in the Doctor Who episode, but it does play to his strengths as someone who knows how to bully. Especially when possessed by an alien!
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9. Iain Glen
In both Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, Iain Glen gets the awesome job of looking over and helping fearless women. In Game of Thrones, he counsels Daenerys Targaryen, and in Doctor Who he works with River Song. Both are amazing women who are known for their incredible hair. How does he do it?!
While his role in Game of Thrones is a fairly big one, in Doctor Who he mostly takes a back seat to River. Let’s be honest, River isn’t a first-time-Khaleesi kind of character, either. Father Octavian mostly stands behind and looks scared as they find Weeping Angels and eventually dies. It’s interesting when someone fares better on Game of Thrones than they do on Doctor Who.
In case you don’t know, on Game of Thrones, Iain Glen plays Jorah Mormont, a man who has counseled Daenerys since she was still under her brother’s orders. He’s helped and watched her throughout the seasons — all while almost dying coupled with an HBO amount of sexual tension.
10. Liam Cunningham
In Doctor Who and in Game of Thrones, Liam Cunningham plays lovable gruff characters that sometimes need a good talking down. In Game of Thrones, he plays Davos Seaworth who now works with Jon Snow, King of the North (I think. If you know what happened this season, it’s a bit confusing). On Doctor Who, he plays Captain Zhukov, captain of a Soviet submarine.
In Doctor Who, the Firebird — awesome name for a ship — had Ice Warriors on it. Captain Zhukov openly said they should shoot the Ice Warrior, but of course, the Doctor wouldn’t let him. He tried to negotiate with the Ice Warrior, but eventually, it was left to Clara to talk to the alien. The Doctor helped Clara know what to say to the Ice Warrior and the Ice Warrior left the ship peacefully by the end of the episode. They even got a lift to shore! If only all aliens the Doctor met were so helpful!
Davos Seaworth (Not Davros) is a man who shows respect to the people around him and is fiercely loyal to anyone he believes in. He first believed in Stannis Baratheon, and it wasn’t until Stannis was killed that he found Jon Snow. Now he helps Jon Snow with his advice, just as he helped Stannis Baratheon.
Liam Cunningham does an amazing job playing a character who has a kind side, even though they show a harder side initially.
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11. Tobias Menzies
Edmure Tully, a man captured on his wedding night, but it was at the Red Wedding, so he fared better than most. Not only has Tobias Menzies played the probably-ill-fated brother to Catelyn Stark, he was also in Cold War, playing Lieutenant Stepashin. His character often fought with Liam Cunningham’s character, despite being lower on the proverbial totem pole.
Stepashin goes against what the Doctor says and tries to knock out the Ice Warrior by hitting it. He refuses to believe that the Ice Warrior is real, and believes that this is all a plot by Western spies. Eventually, Captain Zhukov makes him do repair work on the ship, ending his “help” with the problem.
On Game of Thrones, Edmure Tully is currently under capture by the Lannisters as of season six. At first, he was going to be killed by Walder Frey, but then Jaime Lannister came around and took him from the Freys. He tells Jaime that the Freys had him in the dungeons since the Red Wedding. Jaime makes Edmure give up the Tully house in exchange to see his wife and son, who he hasn’t seen since season three.
As you can see, Edmure is different from the small character he played on Doctor Who. All of the Tullys are kind and caring people.
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12. Joe Dempsie
I had to include Joe Dempsie because he’s in one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who, The Doctor’s Daughter! He plays a large role in Game of Thrones, recently coming back after being off camera for several seasons. Dempsie plays Gendry, the last bastard son of King Robert. (I won’t even begin to talk about how this changes the entire dimension of the show.)
Everyone was elated to see Gendry come back in season seven. At first, he traveled with Arya to become part of the Night’s Watch but never made it to Castle Black. When the Lannisters were looking for him, he got in a boat and rowed away, and that was the last we saw of him. In season seven, he rejoined society and became part of Jon Snow’s group to go beyond the Wall and fight the Night King and the White Walkers.
On Doctor Who, he had a much smaller but memorable role. He played Cline, the person who initially fought with Jenny before she stayed with the Doctor and Donna. After that, she managed to seduce him enough to get out of the cell General Cobb had put them. The was the last we saw of him.
It’s safe to say that Gendry’s a much more interesting character.
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13. Julian Glover
Here, we spice things up a bit. Julian Glover didn’t appear in any Doctor Who since 2005, you actually have to go further back. Much further. Julian Glover actually appeared in the Hartnell series The Crusades as Richard the Lionheart, and then again in 1979 in City of Death, a Tom Baker series. (Also my favorite Classic Series to date!)
You might be wondering how Glover managed to be on Doctor Who twice. Well, the second time he looked a bit different than the first time. The first time he was striking, attractive as the brave character. The second time he wore a spaghetti head mask. Oh, how the mighty fall.
In Game of Thrones, Julian Glover plays Pycelle, the Grand Maester of Kings Landing. He was on the Small Council until he was replaced by someone who would do Cersei’s bidding. That’s pretty much the way the show goes. Pycelle was killed, actually attacked, by children. It’s actually a horrible, sad death seen on the television show.
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14. Margaret John
According to TARDIS Wikia, Margaret John appeared twice in Doctor Who history. Once in Classic Who, in a lost episode Fury From the Deep. (At the very least, it’s not available on Britbox) However, the entire synopsis of the episode is available on the TARDIS Wikia for the episode. Margaret John played Megan Jones, who worked in the refinery base that the episode takes place in.
In a shocking twist, 38 years later when David Tennant was the Doctor, her face shows up again in The Idiot’s Lantern, playing Grandma Connelly. She had her own prelude to the episode, Tardisode 7, that showed her hitting the television, lightning coming at her, and then a commercial for the coronation.
Margaret John holds the record for the longest span between two appearances.
For Game of Thrones fans, Margaret John is Old Nan, who we see a couple times in season one, always around Bran’s bed. We also hear the boys talk about the stories that she told. Is it too much to wonder if Old Nan has dreams of what happened as Megan Jones and Grandma Connelly?
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15. Robert Goodman
Following two people who have appeared in Classic Who, Goodman has uncredited appearances in the Classic Series, with the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Doctors. He was different small roles that left him unaccounted for in roles, but the TARDIS Wikia for him has his uncredited appearances. He was everything from an alien to set crew worker! This man has truly worked in all aspects of Doctor Who.
In the New Series, Goodman showed up in Listen, the iconic Capaldi episode. He played Reg, the night manager at the children’s home where Rupert Pink lived. He has a conversation with the Doctor, and the Doctor tries to see if Reg can help with his theory — that we’re never really alone. Though there are signs everywhere, he waves them off.
In Game of Thrones, Goodman plays a small role as well. A Valyrian Slave that Daenerys frees. While he’s credited for this role, it’s still unnamed. It’s a step up, I suppose.
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16. Paul Kaye
Unless you know the actor’s name, you would never know that he was in Doctor Who. He plays Thoros of Myr, a priest who can bring back Beric Dondarrion (and probably others) from death. Which is good, because Game of Thrones really needs someone who can bring people back from the dead.
Unless they kill off the guy who can bring everyone back from the dead. Which they did. Who’s surprised?
On Doctor Who, he played Prentis, who as you can see, got the gift of face make up to make himself look nothing like he does. Kind of looking like a rat or mouse, he was featured in Before the Flood. The episode took place in an underwater mining base, a funeral director. As the two-part episode of Under the Lake and Before the Flood went on, more and more people were turning into ghosts, muttering something.
It’s hard to believe that this character is played by the same person who plays Thoros, a priest who believes in the Lord of Light and was most definitely not half animal. The two characters could not be more different!
17. Tony Way
Many people will remember the aliens in Deep Breath, the robots from The Girl in the Fireplace back in season two. The robots were going through the town and taking the best parts of people. In order to introduce them, they showed a man watching the dinosaur that showed up in the Thames.
The man talked about how his eyes were his best gift, and the super creepy robot-man said that he accepted the man’s gift. We never see what happens to Alf, but we can guess.
On Game of Thrones, this man is the one Joffrey almost killed when he came out drunk at a jousting tournament. Ser Dontos was eventually made Joffrey’s fool at the request of Sansa in exchange for him not getting killed. He eventually got killed by Littlefingr, when Dontos became a plot to help Sansa escape from Kings Landing.
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18. Ron Donachie
Ron Donachie played a small role in the Tenth Doctor episode Tooth and Claw, he was the head steward at the original Torchwood House. This episode is famous for David Tennant playing the Doctor using a Scottish accent, as well as Ten and Rose trying to get Queen Victoria to say “I am not amused”. Unfortunately, that’s all that we know of his character in Doctor Who.
Even though he had a relatively small role in the 2006 episode, that was before Game of Thrones, where he had a bigger role as Rodrick Cassel. He was known around Winterfell as Sir Rodrik, the master-of-arms. He was well respected, enough to escort Catelyn through season one when she left Winterfell to tell her husband bad news. Then, of course, things went crazy.
As with many characters, Sir Rodrik was killed when Theon Greyjoy took over Winterfell.
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19. Jamie Sives
It seems all members of the Cassel family were in Tooth and Claw! Jamie Sives plays Rodrik’s nephew Jory and was also one of Queen Victoria’s guards. In Doctor Who, he was eaten to death by a werewolf and in Game of Thrones, he was killed by Jaime Lannister. Poor guy.
In Doctor Who, he played Captain Reynolds, the guard that Scottish David Tennant pretends he’s pretending to use a Scottish accent on! That’s right, the Doctor and Rose are caught by Queen Victoria, who demands to know what they’re doing. The Doctor tries to joke his way out of it, but it doesn’t exactly work. Again, shocker!
In Game of Thrones, Jory gets killed by Jaime Lannister for protecting Ned Stark in King’s Landing. It’s actually killing the character that is the catalyst for the Starks to go to war.
20. Ian Hanmore
Yet another Game of Thrones actor who came from Tooth and Claw! Ian Hanmore played Father Angelo, who was the main enemy in the episode. He is the leader of a group of monks named the Brethren. Their goal is to awaken a werewolf and create “the Empire of the Wolf”. After planting himself in the house as a steward to ignore any suspicion, he ends up getting caught and shot dead by Queen Victoria herself. She is obviously not amused by this situation.
After he was shot by Queen Victoria, he moved on to Qarth and became one of the Thirteen, a ruling council of the city of Qarth. Hanmore played Pyat Pree, part of the House of the Undying, which uses magic and illusions.
He’s a warlock and helps another member of the Thirteen, Xaro Xohan Daxos throw a coup of the city when he steals Daenerys’s dragons. Eventually, he and Daxos plot to kill the rest of the Thirteen, completing their coup, helping Daxos’ plan come to fruition. Pree kidnaps Daenerys and chains her up, telling her he plans to keep her forever. Of course, her dragons come and save her. We all know not to get in the way of a Targaryen and her dragons.
It looks like no matter what, Hanmore plays a creepy character who believes in magic or the unbelievable. Well, Game of Thrones and Doctor Who are good places to play those characters!
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21. Ben Crompton
Ben Crompton has the distinct honor in Game of Thrones of playing a brother of the Night’s Watch and close friends with Jon Snow, Dolorus Edd. He’s even still alive in the show, which is an impressive feat all on its own! In Doctor Who, he appeared in Into the Dalek as Ross, one of the soldiers on the Aristotle along with Journey Blue.
He, along with other soldiers, the Doctor and Clara managed not to be lasagna and was miniaturized and sent into Rusty the Dalek. The episode was interesting all around to see how the Daleks see the Doctor. How even though the Doctor doesn’t want to believe it, his hate for the Daleks that stems from so long at battle might not be too different than the Daleks themselves.
Crompton’s character Ross is killed in the episode, which is incredibly weird when you think about it. How does someone manage to stay alive on Game of Thrones, but get killed in Doctor Who? The White Walkers should be nothing compared to the Daleks! Currently, Edd is acting Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. It’s likely that his days are probably numbered, as there technically is no Wall to watch anymore.
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22. Robert Pugh
Game of Thrones will recognize Robert Pugh as Craster, a wildling who lives North of the Wall and well known for marrying his daughters. For Doctor Who fans, you might recognize him from the Eleventh Doctor episodes The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, the episodes where we’re introduced to the Silurians. He played Tony Mack, the man responsible for drilling into Silurian resting place after his anger gets the better of him.
In these two episodes, we’re introduced to the Silurians as we learn about a group of workers trying to drill further into the Earth than anyone ever has before. He works with his family and tries to make peace with the Silurans until his daughter accidentally killed one of them. During a fight with the Silurians, he was hit with a poison dart from the tongue of a Silurian and left him with a green web of veins. This made him eventually start to mutate, and in the end go to live with the Silurians in hibernation under the Earth.
In Game of Thrones, he doesn’t have such a noble ending. He plays Craster, a man who marries his daughters and produces more daughters, giving his sons away to the White Walkers. He helps the Night’s Watch by giving them information and shelter when they have to go beyond the wall. Craster ends up being killed after getting too drunk on wine and being too clumsy. He’s killed by a member of the Night’s Watch which begins a fight at Craster’s Keep.
*Pugh has also appeared in Torchwood and on the audio of The Diary of River Song.
23. Lucian Msamati
Lucian Msamati was in the Vampires of Venice as Guido. After failing to get his daughter back from Rosanna Calvierri’s school. The school was actually a way for the Saturnians to gain more female members in order to breed more. After they would breed more, they were going to kill the people of Venice and make a new race.
The Doctor tried to help Guido get his daughter, Isabella, back, but when he realizes something is wrong, his daughter becomes essential in helping them out. She tells Amy what happens and how she forgets things. Eventually, Isabella is executed for helping out The Doctor and Guido avenges his daughter, lighting up the house where the female Saturnyns are yelling We are Venetians.
In Game of Thrones, Msamati plays Salladhor Saan. Saan was originally part of Stannis Baratheon’s service but abandoned him at the Battle of the Blackwater. He came back when Stannis was able to pay a fee he owed to the Iron Bank. He’s last seen in Season Four when Davos hands him money and promises to get him home to his wife with extra money from the Iron Bank.
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24. Sam Callis
Sam Callis had small roles in both Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, but there are no small roles. Especially not in Britain’s longest running sci-fi show and one of the most popular shows in the world. He played a Gold Cloak on the Kingsroad in Season Two, and a security guard in the episode Bad Wolf of the first series of the New Series.
The unnamed security guard caught the Doctor, Jack Harkness, and Lynda (with a Y). He tried without luck to interrogate them but eventually sentenced them to the Lunar Penal Colony. Not surprising, this is located on the Moon. This was not the first time the Doctor was faced with this, it also came up when he was the Fifth Doctor. (Just a tidbit for you.)
Not wanting to spend life on the Moon, Jack and the Doctor fought off him and the other security guards, going up to Floor 500.
As for Game of Thrones, Callis played the Gold Cloaks on the Kingsroad trying to find Gendry (Joe Dempsie), King Robert’s bastard. They try to interrogate the leader of the group, but a fight breaks out, and they give up for that episode.
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25. Tim Plester
Tim Plester joins David Bradley as another member of the Frey family in Game of Thrones and a character in A Christmas Carol episode of Doctor Who.
He had a small role in the Christmas episode. He was the chief servant of Kazran Sardick, who was played by Michael Gambon. The Doctor told the chief servant (Plester) that he’d won the lottery, and then was able to get into the past of the character and change it.
As for Game of Thrones, Black Walder is definitely a bigger character than his guest-starring role on Doctor Who. Black Walder, or Walder Rivers, who is first seen in season three. They’re brought in front of the Starks after Robb Stark breaks his oath to the Frey family. They demand that Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) marry one of the Frey daughters. This sets up the stage for the Red Wedding, where Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark and most of his immediate army is killed.
Black Walder is seen again in season six, trying to figure out what to do with Edmure Tully again. They want to kill him, but the Lannisters make the Freys spare him. (For their own agenda, of course.) Black Walder is killed in the beginning of season seven by Arya Stark. Talk about Wibbly Wobbly-Murdery-Wurdery.
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26. Nicholas Boulton
Nicholas Boulton played incredibly small parts in both shows, but everyone makes the list! He appears in Gridlock in series three of Doctor Who, and as the Fight Pit Announcer in Meereen in Game of Thrones.
In Gridlock, Boulton plays one of the people stuck on the motorway. He’s a dapper businessman, who helps the Doctor when he’s choking from the fumes from the cars. Unfortunately, this businessman was right above the alien creatures. Not a good place to be stuck. But, like everyone else, eventually, he got off the motorway and to where he wanted to be!
In Game of Thrones, watchers will remember the huge fight that happened because Daenerys wanted to close the Fighting Pits in Meereen. People began to fight back at her, and even her council finally decided it would be a good idea to give in to this demand. The decision was headed by Daario Naharis and eventually the fights began.
Boulton played the fight pit announcer of the fight that they showed Daenerys when she came to Meereen. After the attack to try to get her to open the pits, ironically we don’t know where his character is!
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27. Rupert Vansittart
Rupert Vansittart played a Slitheen in Aliens of London and had a bigger role in Game of Thrones as Yohn Royce, a member of House Arryn.
Everyone will remember the Slitheen, the famous farting aliens that took up much of series one of the New Series. Not a very intimidating alien, but one Russel T. Davies seemed to like a lot, as they were also featured in the Sarah Jane Adventures.
Vansittart specifically played General Asquith, who, before becoming a Slitheen, tried to fight back against them. After threatening to put Britain under martial law, the Slitheens took over his body and used him to further their plan. Eventually, the Slitheen that was using his skin was killed by a missile. RIP?
In Game of Thrones, Vansittart played Yohn Royce from House Arryn, though he spent time at House Tully with Robin Arryn after both Jon Arryn and Lysa Arryn died. He, like many people, fell for Petyr Baelish’s actions and manipulations. He eventually moves to Winterfell after the Battle of the Bastards and oversees the trial for Petyr Baelish that ends in Baelish’s death.
It’s always odd when a character survives Game of Thrones but not Doctor Who, isn’t it?
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28. David Fynn
David Fynn plays Rennick, a deceased Lannister soldier on Game of Thrones, and Marcellus, a Roman soldier/Auton that greets the Doctor after River kisses him with her hallucinogenic lipstick.
Marcellus, real or not, thinks that the Doctor is Caesar and River is Cleopatra. He takes the Doctor and Amy to see River, who gives them The Pandorica Opens painting. We all know the story — they go to the Pandorica and chaos ensues. The important thing is: if Marcellus actually never happened, did David Fynn play this character at all? It’s weird when wibbly-wobbly gets into the real world, isn’t it?
(But yes, he did play the character, and made a great impression in only a few minutes on camera.)
In Game of Thrones, the Lannister soldier he played is also dead, so to speak. He was killed by Grey Wind, Robb’s direwolf. He’s talking to another soldier while urinating and ignores the fact that the horses hear something. You can guess what happens next.
Man, it’s one thing to die on both shows, it’s a whole other to die while you’re urinating. That sucks.
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29. Mark Killeen
Mark Killeen plays Mero, a Braavosi sellsword whose mouth gets him decapitated, and a Nazi on Doctor Who. Which is better?
On Doctor Who he plays the German Officer in Let’s Kill Hitler. He’s the first person to see Melody Pond after she regenerates into River Song (but doesn’t know that’s who she is). He tries to stop her, and they began to shoot at her. But, with the wonderful rules of the first 48 hours of regeneration, Melody gloriously rejuvenates herself. The Nazi’s are blasted with energy, and she steals their guns and motorcycle. Sounds like Mels.
On Game of Thrones, Killeen plays Mero, a sellsword who offends Daenerys to the point where she tells them to bring her his head once he’s alone. Here’s a note: even though Daenerys may be kind and give you wine, she’s probably telling her soldiers to kill you. It’s probably best not to insult her or anyone she cares about in front of her.
We’re looking at you, Mero. But you are much more attractive as a Braavosi than a Nazi.
30. Donald Sumpter
Donald Sumpter played a critical role in Game of Thrones as Maester Luwin, as well as multiple characters throughout Doctor Who.
Let’s go chronologically. First, Sumpter played Enrico Casali in The Wheel in Space, a Troughton era series. He played an Italian member of the Space Station W3 staff and eventually helped the Second Doctor defeat the Cybermen. Next, he played Commander Ridgeway in the Pertwee era. Ridgeway was a Royal Navy officer to search for sea devils and kind of looked like Lin-Manuel Miranda. (Link is to a picture.) He also played an older Rassilon in Hell Bent, one of the founders of the Time Lord civilization.
Meanwhile, on Game of Thrones, Sumpter played one of the most important characters to the Stark family in the first seasons until Winterfell was taken by Theon Greyjoy. Maester Luwin was always there for the Starks, but especially Bran, once everyone left for the War. Once everyone was gone, Bran was now Lord of Winterfell and needed guidance, which was given to him by Maester Luwin.
Luwin died in the Godswood after telling Bran, Hodor, Osha, and Rickon to go North to Castle Black where they’ll be able to meet Jon Snow. (In theory.)
Well, this was an outstanding turn of events. Is there anything else Donald Sumpter has hidden that he can do?
BBC
31. Owen Teale
Owen Teale plays Alliser Thorne, member of the Night’s Watch on Game of Thrones. He also appeared in the Classic Series of Doctor Who with the Sixth Doctor.
Owen Teale appeared in the Sixth Doctor serial Vengence on Varos as Senior Guard Maldak 239. Maldak was keeping guard during a widely known criminal’s execution, until the Doctor showed up. They took Jondar away from Maldak, until eventually he returned, forcing them to go through the Punishment dome. Throughout the serial he was rough and on the governnment’s side, until finally lighting up and giving the Doctor what he needed to fix his TARDIS.
In Game of Thrones, he plays a larger character that survives the first five seasons of Game of Thrones. Alliser Thorne is part of the Night’s Watch, and enjoyed pinning Jon Snow against other members because of where he came from. Thorne openly tells the boys that they have it too easy. In Season one, he’s happy when Jon doesn’t get the job posting he wanted, a steward instead of a ranger, along with Samwell Tarly.
Thorne comes back in season four when the Night’s Watch comes back from their trek beyond the wall. Since they’ve been gone, he’s been declared acting Lord Commander, and judges Jon for what happened between him Ygritte — literally sleeping with the enemy. But Maester Aemon refuses to execute Jon for breaking his vows, angering Thorne all the more.
At the end of season six, Thorne is one of the six to stab Jon for what’s he’s done. Once Jon is brought back from the dead, he hangs Alliser Thorne and the rest of the people who hung him.
BBC
32-34. Other: Monsters
There are three actors who have appeared in Doctor Who and Game of Thrones but are hidden behind masks and CGI in both shows.
Ross Mullan has played a White Walker and a member of the Silence or is at least credited as doing so. It’s hard to say when neither one really talks. Mullan also played the Teller in the 12th Doctor episode Time Heist and the Wraith in Hell Bent. He also appeared at the 2013 BBC Proms as one of the monsters!
Spencer Wilding also played a White Walker but had a more array of monster playing on Doctor Who. He played the Minotaur in The God Complex, the Wooden King in The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe, and the Ice Warrior Skaldak in Cold War. As we know, that episode also featured Liam Cunningham and Tobias Menzies! Wilding also eventually showed up in Class for the story The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did.
Finally, Struan Rodger also appeared in three episodes of Doctor Who and in Game of Thrones as Three-Eyed Raven. In Doctor Who, he played the voice of The Face of Boe in two episodes, New Earth and Gridlock. He also played Clayton in The Woman Who Lived, Maisie William’s characters servant.