The gigantic cast of The Fate of the Furious is absolutely stacked. The film of course features franchise regulars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Dwayne Johnson, as well as the return of Furious 7's Jason Statham and Kurt Russell, and the addition of several big name stars like Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, and Scott Eastwood. But they're not the only new faces. Fate of the Furious has a Game of Thrones connection, too, that you may not have noticed.
Now, before you point out that Nathalie Emmanuel — who stars as Missandei on Game of Thrones and as Ramsey in the new film — made her franchise debut in Furious 7, let me disclose that the Thrones connection to which I am referring has nothing to do with her. No, there is another actor who was added to the cast of the new Furious film who has largely been absent from the movie's marketing. His name is Kristofer Hivju, and he portrays Rhodes, one of Cipher's (Charlize Theron) henchmen in the movie. And if you're thinking that you don't recognize the name Kristofer Hivju, rest assured that you will recognize his face if you're a fan of Game of Thrones. Check out the image below to see what I mean.
That is of course lovable wildling Tormund Giantsbane, Hivju's character from Thrones. The Norwegian actor joined the cast of the hit HBO fantasy series for its third season, where he quickly became a fan favorite. His role in The Fate of the Furious is easily his most visible outside of the show, but he and Emmanuel are hardly the first breakout stars from Thrones to make the leap to action movie stardom. Here are a few others who helped pave the way for them.
Emilia Clarke — Terminator Genisys
The Mother of Dragons became the mother of John Connor in this sequel/reboot to the long-running science-fiction franchise.
Sophie Turner — X-Men: Apocalypse
The actor got to keep her Sansa Stark red hair for her role as the powerful mutant Jean Grey in this superhero movie.
Kit Harington — Pompeii
Jon Snow may know nothing, but Harington knows a thing or two about being a leading man.
Gwendoline Christie — Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Brienne of Tarth actor is now a full-blown movie star, as she not only leads the Stormtroopers as Captain Phasma in the new Star Wars movies, but also featured in the Hunger Games franchise. Speaking of which...
Natalie Dormer — The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1 & 2
It's safe to say the Hunger Games casting director was a fan of Thrones.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau — Gods Of Egypt
The Danish actor has been around for a long time, but he never emerged as a Hollywood star until his work as Jamie Lannister.
Rory McCann — xXx: Return Of Xander Cage
The Hound actor went by a new nickname, The Torch, in this Vin Diesel actioner.
Alfie Allen — John Wick
Theon Greyjoy straddles the line between hero and villain, but Allen went full bad guy when he faced off against Keanu Reeves in this cult favorite.
Clearly, the stars of Game of Thrones are taking over the action movie industry, and something tells me The Fate of the Furious won't be the last time Kristofer Hivju winds up kicking butt on the silver screen.
