Secret Invasion premiered on Disney+ on June 21st and continued the trend of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) hiring Game of Thrones actors to appear in its TV series and films. If you haven’t caught on to all of the Game of Thrones actors swirling about the MCU, don’t feel bad, as even the actors aren’t aware of the sheer number of them.
At the premiere of Secret Invasion, Emilia Clarke expressed shock when she was told she was the 11th Game of Thrones star to appear in the MCU. She stated, “Oh my God. I did not know that. That seems like a lot! That’s a lot of people.” However, she might’ve been more shocked to learn that the actual number of Game of Thrones actors in the MCU is almost double the estimate she was given. Here are all 20 Game of Thrones actors who have turned up in an MCU canon TV show or film.
Emilia Clarke
Clarke is most well known for starring as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2019, a role that garnered her four Emmy nominations. As mentioned above, she is the most recent Game of Thrones actress to enter the MCU, as she nabbed the lead role of G’iah in Secret Invasion. G’iah is the daughter of Talos (Ben Mendelson) and struggles with feeling betrayed and disillusioned by the Skrulls’ continued lack of a home.
Richard Dormer
Clarke isn’t the only Game of Thrones star appearing in Secret Invasion. She is joined by Richard Dormer, who had a recurring role as Beric Dondarrion in Game of Thrones. He guest starred in episode 1 of Secret Invasion as Agent Prescod. Prescod is a CIA agent who is among the first to detect the Skrull invasion.
Martin Starr
Martin Starr had a cameo in Game of Thrones in season 8 as an Ironborn soldier. Meanwhile, he has been appearing in the MCU since 2008. He had a cameo in The Incredible Hulk as Roger Harrington, a student attending Culver University, where Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) worked. Starr reprised his role as Mr. Harrington in the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy, where it is revealed he is a Culver University alumni and a teacher at Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) school. He appears in all three films and is often seen chaperoning the students on field trips and recounting his marital woes to high schoolers.
Kit Harington
Kit Harington starred in Game of Thrones as Jon Snow for eight years across 63 episodes. In 2021, he entered the MCU as Dane Whitman in Eternals. In the film, Whitman is depicted as the human love interest of Sersi (Gemma Chan). However, the film teased his comic book counterpart’s alter ego as the superhero Black Knight.
Richard Madden
The MCU seems to enjoy hiring Game of Thrones actors in twos, so it’s not surprising Richard Madden also played a prominent role in Eternals. Madden starred in Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2013 as Robb Stark, the half-brother of Jon Snow. He appeared in Eternals as Ikaris, the former love interest of Sersi, and is one of the most powerful among their superpowered group.
Richard E. Grant
Academy Award-winning actor Richard E. Grant appeared in Game of Thrones as Izembaro in season 6, a playwright and leader of a theater troupe. He later appeared in the MCU’s TV series Loki as Classic Loki, one of the variants of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in the multiverse. Grant donned the comic book-accurate Loki costume and proved himself to be quite a reformed variant throughout the series. Additionally, while not part of the MCU, he did also appear in the Marvel-based film Logan as the villain Zander Rice.
Deobia Oparei
Deobia Oparei joined Grant in Loki, portraying the variant Boastful Loki, who claims to have been a much more successful villain than the main timeline Loki. Before his appearance in Loki, he also appeared in Game of Thrones season 5 as Areo Hotah, the captain of Doran Martell’s (Alexander Siddig) guards.
Chuku Modu
Chuku Modu made his small screen debut in season 6 of Game of Thrones as Aggo, a bloodrider who serves Daenerys. Three years later, he landed a minor role in Captain Marvel as Soh-Larr, a Kree spy who tries to gather intelligence on the Skrulls.
Hannah John-Kamen
Hannah John-Kamen made a name for herself starring in Killjoys and Ready Player One before she nabbed a guest appearance on Game of Thrones season 6. She appeared briefly as Ornela, a woman forced to join the Dosh Khaleen temple, which was made up of widows of Dothraki warlords. In 2018, John-Kamen starred in Ant-Man and the Wasp as Ava Starr (a.k.a. Ghost). She played a gender-swapped version of the comic book anti-hero Ghost and is depicted as a mysterious antagonist. John-Kamen recently confirmed she’ll be reprising her MCU role as Ghost in the upcoming film Thunderbolts.
Peter Dinklage
Peter Dinklage starred in Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2019 as Tyrion Lannister, a member of the wealthy and powerful House Lannister. During his stint on Game of Thrones, he found the time to enter the MCU in Avengers: Infinity War as Eitri, the King of Dwarves who fashions Stormbreaker for Thor (Chris Hemsworth). He was to reprise his role as Eitri in Thor: Love and Thunder, but his scene didn’t make the final cut of the film.
Neil Fingleton
Neil Fingleton starred in three episodes of Game of Thrones between 2014 and 2017. He portrayed two different roles, including a giant named Mag the Mighty. Meanwhile, he appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, providing the motion capture for Ultron, while James Spader provided the voice. At 7 ft. 7.56 in., Fingleton was perfect for his roles in Game of Thrones and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Sadly, Fingleton passed away in 2017 at the age of 36.
Spencer Wilding
In 2011, Spencer Wilding had a minor role in the first Game of Thrones episode, “Winter Is Coming,” as a White Walker. In 2014, he played a minor but memorable role in Guardians of the Galaxy as the Mean Guard who tries to steal Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) mixtape and headset.
Enzo Cilenti
Enzo Cilenti appeared in Game of Thrones season 5 as a slave trader named Yezzan zo Qaggaz. Before his Game of Thrones debut, he had a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy as a Watchtower Guard for the Nova Corps.
Ralph Ineson
Ralph Ineson appeared in season 2 of Game of Thrones as Dagmer Cleftjaw, a brutal warrior and captain of a ship named Foamdrinker. Several years later, he had a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy as a Ravager pilot. He can be spotted in the right-hand corner in the above photo, sitting in a pilot’s chair.
Clive Russell
Clive Russell nabbed a recurring role in Game of Thrones in 2013 as Brynden Tully. He is known as the black sheep or “Blackfish” of the House Tully. The same year he made his debut in Game of Thrones, he appeared in the MCU film Thor: The Dark World as Tyr, Thor’s brother and leader of the Asgardian warriors known as the Einherjar.
Richard Brake
Richard Brake guest starred in Game of Thrones in season 4 and season 5 as Night King, the leader of the White Walkers. In 2013, he appeared in Thor: The Dark World as a Captain of the Einherjar.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje appeared in two episodes of Games of Thrones in 2015 as the slave trader Malko. He also boasted a minor role in Thor: The Dark World as Algrim the Strong, who later transforms into Kurse. Although he was depicted as a minor villain in the film, in the comics, Kurse is believed to be physically stronger than Thanos sans Infinity Stones.
Joseph Gatt
Joseph Gatt appeared in Game of Thrones as Thenn Warg in 2014, a member of a cannibalistic tribe. Three years earlier, he portrayed Frost Giant Grundroth, a loyal warrior to Loki, in Thor.
Natalie Dormer
Natalie Dormer is best known for portraying Margaery Tyrell, the intelligent and wealthy Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, in Game of Thrones from 2012 to 2016. A year before her debut on the show, she appeared in a minor role in the MCU film Captain America: The First Avenger as Private Lorraine, who served in the U.S. Army as a secretary to Officer Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones).
David Bradley
David Bradley had a recurring role in Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2017 as Walder Frey, the coldhearted and scheming head of House Frey who fathered 28 children. The same year he made his Game of Thrones debut, he appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger as an unnamed Church Keeper.
(featured image: Disney)
