Game of Thrones - Dark Wings, Dark Words - 01:25 am Monday, January 12 on Sky Atlantic HD

Aidan Gillen (Actor) .. Petyr `Littlefinger" Baelish

Born: April 24, 1968 in Dublin

Best Known For: Queer as Folk and Game of Thrones.

Early-life: Born Aidan Murphy in Dublin on April 24, 1968. As a teenager, he began his acting career with the Dublin Youth Theatre. His big break came in 1999 when he landed a lead role in Russell T Davies' Channel 4 drama Queer as Folk and its sequel, for which he received a Bafta nomination.

Career: In 2004, Gillen received a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway performance in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker. This led to a role in acclaimed HBO drama The Wire. In 2011, he began playing Petyr `Littlefinger" Baelish in HBO drama Game of Thrones. His film credits include The Dark Knight Rises (2012), The Good Man (2012), Mister John (2013) and Calvary (2014). In 2011, he began presenting RTE music series Other Voices. Since then, he has appeared in BBC drama Mayday and RTE dramas Love/Hate and Charlie. He also voiced Paul Serene in the video game Quantum Break and its accompanying TV series.

Quote: "In drama you can either pretend everything is OK, or you can show the world as it really is in the hope that it gets better."

Trivia: He has narrated a number of audiobooks, including Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

Alfie Allen (Actor) .. Theon Greyjoy

Lena Headey (Actor) .. Cersei Lannister

Born: October 03, 1973 in Hamilton, Bermuda

Best Known For: 300 and Game of Thrones.

Early-life: Lena was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, on October 3, 1973 to British parents Sue and John. Her father, a Yorkshire police cadet, was stationed in Bermuda when she was born. Her family returned to England when she was five. Her first taste of acting came as a student at Shelley College. She made her big-screen debut opposite Jeremy Irons in Waterland (1992).

Career: Headey landed a small role in the Oscar-nominated The Remains of the Day (1993) and a year later, she played Mowgli's love interest in The Jungle Book. In 1997, she starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in Mrs Dalloway (1997). Her film credits also include Gossip (2000), The Parole Officer (2001), The Brothers Grimm (2005), 300 (2006), St Trinian's (2007), Dredd (2012), The Purge (2013) and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014). In addition to her film work, Headey has also appeared on the small screen in Band of Gold, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Game of Thrones.

Quote: "I don't think you should feel guilty about pleasure."

Trivia: Headey has suffered bouts of clinical depression since the age of 15.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Actor) .. Jaime Lannister

Peter Dinklage (Actor) .. Tyrion Lannister

Born: June 11, 1969 in Morristown, New Jersey

Best Known For: Playing Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones.

Early-life: Peter Hayden Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey, on June 11, 1969 to Diane and John. Peter was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. He made his film debut in Living in Oblivion (1995).

Career: Dinklage's big break came in the 2003 film The Station Agent. In the same year, he starred alongside Will Ferrell in the seasonal favourite Elf (2003). He went on to have recurring roles on TV in Threshold and Nip/Tuck. His other film credits include Penelope (2006), Death at a Funeral (2007), and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). He is best known for playing Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones, a role he has played since 2011.

Quote: "I was fortunate enough to have an upbringing that made me more accepting of who I am."

Trivia: He voiced Captain Gutt in the Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Ghost in the video game Destiny.

Kit Harington (Actor) .. Jon Snow

Maisie Williams (Actor) .. Arya Stark

Emilia Clarke (Actor) .. Daenerys Targaryen

Born: October 23, 1986 in London

Best Known For: Playing Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones.

Early-life: Emilia was born in London on October 23, 1986. She became interested in acting at the age of three after seeing the musical Show Boat. She went on to graduate from Drama Centre London in 2009.

Career: In 2009, she made her TV debut in an episode of Doctors, and a year later, she starred in TV movie Triassic Attack. Her big break came in 2010 when she was cast as Daenerys Targaryen in HBO drama Game of Thrones. In 2013, she received an Emmy nomination for her role in the medieval fantasy series. She made her Broadway debut in 2013, playing Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Quote: "I'm just a girl who loves mascara."

Trivia: Clarke is known for her platinum blonde look on Game of Thrones but she is a natural brunette in real life.

Richard Madden (Actor) .. Robb Stark

Born: June 18, 1986 in Elderslie, Renfrewshire

Best Known For: Playing Robb Stark in HBO drama Game of Thrones, and Prince Kit in Disney's Cinderella (2015).

Early-life: Richard was born in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, on June 18, 1986 to Pat and Richard. At the age of 11, he joined Paisley Arts Centre's youth theatre programme. He made his professional acting debut in the 2000 film adaptation of Iain Banks's Complicity. This was followed by a recurring role in children's comedy series Barmy Aunt Boomerang. He went on to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). In his final year with RSAMD, he was cast as Romeo in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre in London.

Career: Madden later gained roles in the BBC series Hope Springs, and the films Chatroom (2010) and Worried About the Boy (2010). Between 2011 and 2013, he played Robb Stark in the HBO drama Game of Thrones. His TV credits also include the Channel 4 series Sirens, and the BBC two-part drama Birdsong. More recently, he starred in the historical miniseries Klondike, and Disney's Cinderella (2015).

Quote: "Doing jobs that are completely different to the last thing I did pushes me as an actor to change as much as I can."

Trivia: Madden has voiced characters in Castlevania video games.

Sophie Turner (Actor) .. Sansa Stark

Born: February 21, 1996 in Northampton

Best Known For: Playing Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones.

Early-life: Born on February 21, 1996, in Northampton, Sophie moved to Chesterton, Warwickshire when she was two years old. She has two older brothers and had a twin who died before birth. Since Sophie was three, she has been a member of the Playbox Theatre Company.

Career: Turner's first professional acting role was as Sansa Stark in the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones. She has played the character since 2011. Turner made her feature film debut in Another Me (2013) and also starred in TV film The Thirteenth Tale (2013). She starred in the comedy film Barely Lethal (2015) and played telepathic mutant Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).

Quote: "I don't think that the status of a show, big or small, should affect a person's performance."

Trivia: She is a natural blonde but dyes her hair auburn for her character in Game of Thrones.

Charles Dance (Actor) .. Tywin Lannister

Born: October 10, 1946 in Redditch, Worcestershire

Best Known For: The Jewel in the Crown.

Early-life: Born Walter Charles Dance on October 10, 1946, in Redditch, Worcestershire. His engineer father died when Dance was four, after which he and his mother moved to Devon. She struggled to make ends meet, working in a café to support them both. After leaving school he enrolled at art college, but claims his heart wasn't in it. He took odd jobs to earn some cash, and spent his spare time doing amateur dramatics, prompting him to take acting lessons.

Career: Dance spent five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and made his TV debut in miniseries Edward the King in 1975, following it up with appearances in Tales of the Unexpected and Fatal Spring. His first film was 1981 Bond movie For Your Eyes Only, but his big break came in 1984 when he was cast in The Jewel in the Crown. He went on to star in White Mischief, Alien3, The Last Action Hero, Gosford Park, Ali G InDaHouse and First Born. Dance also produced, directed, and wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed film Ladies in Lavender. He was awarded an OBE in 2006. More recent projects include Your Highness, Strike Back, Secret State, Game of Thrones, and Dracula Untold.

Quote: "If someone calls you suave and debonair you only get offered parts in a suit and a collar and tie. It just so happens I wear them reasonably well."

Trivia: Dance had no idea his Dracula Untold character was a resurrected Caligula until after the film was made.

Stephen Dillane (Actor) .. Stannis Baratheon

(Actor) .. Mance Rayder

Michelle Fairley (Actor) .. Lady Catelyn Stark

Carice van Houten (Actor) .. Melisandre

Jack Gleeson (Actor) .. King Joffrey Baratheon

Mackenzie Crook (Actor) .. Orell

Born: September 29, 1971 in Maidstone

Best Known For: His breakthrough turn in BBC sitcom The Office

Early-life: Born Paul James Crook in Maidstone, Kent, on September 29, 1971, and grew up in Dartford. His father, Michael, worked for British Airways and his mother, Sheila, was a hospital manager. He joined the Orchard Youth Theatre in Dartford when he was 15 and became passionate about acting. When he was 18 he applied to the Kent Institute of Art & Design but was rejected.

Career: Crook began his career as a stand-up comedian alongside Iain Lee; they worked together for about eight years. His first major TV role was as a comedy sketch contributor on Channel 4's The Eleven O'Clock Show in 1998 - which was fronted by Lee. His big break came when he was cast as Gareth in The Office. He then appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and the two sequels, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. He also appeared as Launcelot Gobbo in Michael Radford's film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice. Other projects include The Gathering, Sex Lives of the Potato Men, Churchill: The Hollywood Years, The Brothers Grimm, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Game of Thrones and his self-penned sitcom Detectorists.

Quote: "I can usually keep a straight face while everyone else cracks up around me, which makes me feel quite humourless."

Trivia: Before being cast in The Office, Mackenzie worked in a hospital, a chicken factory, Halfords and Pizza Hut.

Diana Rigg (Actor) .. Lady Olenna

Born: July 20, 1938 in Doncaster

Best Known For: Being a 1960s icon.

Early-life: Born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg on July 20, 1938, in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but spent her early years in India. At the age of eight she was sent back to England to attend boarding school in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. She later transferred to Fulneck School in West Yorkshire where she developed her love of acting, inspiring her to audition for a place at RADA in 1955; she made her professional stage debut the same year.

Career: In 1959, Rigg signed a five-year contract with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her move to TV came in 1965 when she was offered the role of Emma Peel in The Avengers, but the demand for interviews and photographs proved too much, forcing her to quit in 1967. She went on to star in various movies, including On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Julius Caesar and The Great Muppet Caper, but by the 1980s her screen success was fading. However, she returned to form in 1989 in the award-winning miniseries Mother Love, and has appeared continually on stage, film and TV ever since. In 2013, she made a memorable Doctor Who villain alongside Matt Smith and her real-life daughter Rachael Stirling, and has a regular role in the acclaimed Game of Thrones.

Quote: "You go your own way - you think, ‘That's what I want to do, it gives me pleasure' - the rest of the world can swing on by."

Trivia: She was made a Dame in 1994.

Natalie Dormer (Actor) .. Margaery Tyrell

Sibel Kekilli (Actor) .. Shae

Gwendoline Christie (Actor) .. Brienne of Tarth

John Stahl (Actor) .. Lord Karstark

Daniel Minahan (Director)

Game of Thrones: Dark Wings, Dark Words

01:25 am - 02:30 am, Monday, January 12 on Sky Atlantic HD (357)

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Dark Wings, Dark Words
Season 3, Episode 2

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