“Hey, they were in Game of Thrones”—Where else have you seen these 55 GoT cast members? (Part 2)

37) IAN McELHINNEY

As one of the greatest swordsmen in the history of Westeros, Ser Barristan (The Bold) Selmy served in the Kingsguard for 40 years, until King Joffrey removed him. This was a humiliation, since service in the Kingsguard is supposed to be for life, so Selmy found a more worthy monarch in Daenerys Targaryen. Thrones needed an actor with sufficient gravitas to play the part of the larger-than-life Selmy, and they found it in the elegant and stately Irishman Ian McElhinney.

McElhinney has been acting since 1981. His list of TV credits is long and impressive, including stints on Cowboys (1981), First Sight (1987), Wipe Out (1988), The Bill (1992),  Wokenwell (1997), Queer as Folk (1999-2000), The Tudors (2007), Casualty (2007), The Fall (2013-2014) and Ripper Street (2013-2016, above).

Among his film credits are movies like A Prayer for the Dying (1987), The Playboys (1992), Michael Collins (1996), Hamlet (1996), The Boxer (1997), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and three of the popular Horatio Hornblower TV movie series: The Fire Ship (1997), Retribution (2001) and Loyalty (2003).

McElhinney made news when he publicly voiced disappointment about his character’s shock death in Thrones‘ fifth season. Having read the books (where Selmy is still alive), he’d expected a much meatier role (and greater longevity) for Selmy and got blindsided by his swift exit, as he relates in a Telegraph interview:

"Truthfully, miffed. But I knew before I even saw the script because I got the schedule. Unfortunately I’d read the books, so I had expectations for season five. If I’m honest, I was a bit disappointed by that (not being warned by the producers). I felt I should have known, it wouldn’t have made any difference but I felt that as a matter of just courtesy, I should have known."

If you’re looking for more McElhinney in 2018, you’re in luck. You can find him in the TV series Derry Girls and Krypton (above), the TV movie Dave Allen at Peace and the feature film Cellar Door.