The time has come, Game of Thrones fans. In just hours, the latest spinoff in George R.R. Martin’s universe is premiering, introducing a whole new audience to the lovable Dunk and Egg. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, is a much different show than we’ve seen from this franchise so far. Instead of royalty, we follow the smallfolk, and this story features more comedy and endearing moments.
But, of course, it is a Game of Thrones show. You can still expect bloodshed, lies, and even some political scheming. Ahead of the first episode releasing on HBO and HBO Max this evening, get familiarized with the protagonist of the show and the man who plays him.
Who is Dunk?
If you’re unfamiliar with the novellas the new spinoff is based on, the three titles—The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight—follow the adventures of characters Ser Duncan the Tall, a.k.a. Dunk, and Egg, beginning nearly 100 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
After losing his mentor, Dunk is determined to become a hedge knight and travels to the town of Ashford to compete in a tourney. Full of ambition, Dunk still has a lot to learn about the world, the ways of the Great Houses, and fighting. But on his way, he meets a young boy named Egg, who becomes his squire. Egg seems to know more about royalty, like the princes who compete in the tourney, and Dunk realizes he could actually be a great asset to have beside him.
In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Dunk is played by Peter Claffey and Egg is played by Dexter Sol Ansell.
Peter Claffey’s past roles
If you’re watching A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and question whether you’ve seen Claffey before or not, you likely have, especially as a fan of fantasy/historical fiction. The Irish actor played the role of Dunstan in four episodes of Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla, the sequel series to Vikings.
He’s also appeared in shows such as Wreck, Borderline, and Bad Sisters, the latter of which ran for two seasons on Apple TV and was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards. As for movies, Claffey appeared alongside Cillian Murphy in the 2024 drama Small Things Like These, along with a short called Quicksand.
Without a doubt, Claffey is on the edge of his breakout moment, and we’re sure A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be it. Having seen the show already, he’s been a total standout, alongside Ansell. The casting for Dunk and Egg was so spot-on, and even Martin agrees, calling it “a home run.”
Claffey isn’t as tall as Dunk, but his height is still impressive
And tall he is. #AKnightOfTheSevenKingdoms pic.twitter.com/QxOzAFpJHt
— HBO Max (@hbomax) January 15, 2026
If you’ve read the Dunk and Egg novellas—or heard about Dunk from his mention in Game of Thrones—you’ll know the character is tall. I mean, “tall” is literally part of his name. And while Claffey is not nearly 7 feet tall like Dunk is, he is pretty close. The actor reportedly stands at 6'4 (or 6'5¼, according to IMDb). He towers over most—if not all—of the actors he shares scenes with.
How he feels about joining Game of Thrones
Of course, joining a franchise as big as Game of Thrones might be intimidating for anyone. As for Claffey, finding out he landed the role was anxiety-inducing, knowing he wanted to do right by the fans, as a fan of the franchise himself.
“My confirmation of getting the role was met with tremendous anxiety, panic, and constant sweating and stomach problems,” he told Collider’s Perri Nemiroff at New York Comic Con last fall. “I’ve been a massive fan, obviously, of the original Game of Thrones series, so just to even be involved in the world or have the opportunity to be in the world in some shape or form was obviously amazing, but just tremendously terrifying too.”
Winter is Coming had the pleasure of catching up with Claffey, Ansell, and showrunner Ira Parker during NYCC, where they discussed the show’s tone and look. As mentioned, this is still a Game of Thrones show, so we wouldn’t call it a comedy, but there are many more humorous, fun moments throughout the first season.
#AKnightOfTheSevenKingdoms stars Peter Claffey (Dunk) and Dexter Sol Ansell (Egg) tell us about the show’s comedic tone at #NYCC: pic.twitter.com/NdVJ118NoI
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) October 10, 2025
“The comedic aspects are earned,” Claffey shared with us. “For any fans who are kind of nervous about that side of things—because I was, of course, wondering and self-conscious, was I going to deliver these things in such a sort of serious world of things?—it does work in the end. And you still get your political conflict and your gory violence and all these things as well.”
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has a little bit of everything. Be sure to catch Claffey star as Ser Duncan the Tall when the Game of Thrones prequel series premieres on Sunday, January 18 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Episodes will release weekly, with the finale slated for February 22—yes, that means there are six episodes total.
Stay tuned with Winter is Coming, where we’ll be covering A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms all season long! Our podcast, Take the Black, releases episodes weekly, reacting to the new series and all things fantasy and sci-fi. A new episode drops tonight directly after the premiere on our YouTube channel.