25 actors you forgot were on Game of Thrones

20. Wilko Johnson

Number of episodes: 4

Character name: Ilyn Payne

This is one of those characters you should remember based on the name, but you may have forgotten who played him.

Musician and actor Wilco Johnson has one of those faces that you remember once you see it. He was perfect for the role of Ilyn Payne, the royal executioner who beheaded Ned Stark. He looked appropriately menacingly in every scene where he appeared. He also had no lines to learn for the series since Ilyn was a mute (thanks to the Mad King tearing out his tongue).

Since he killed Ned Stark, Arya put him on her list, but she never got to make good on that promise. That’s in part because Johnson couldn’t appear on the show any longer after being diagnosed with cancer, which he eventually beat. Supposedly, Ilyn is still alive by the final season, although he may well have died during the Battle of King’s Landing.

Johnson hasn’t been in anything since leaving Game of Thrones back in 2012. But acting was never his main gig. He’s been the guitarist for the band Dr. Feelgood since the 1970s, in addition to appearing in other bands.