John Connington, "Game of Thrones": photo, actor

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Fans of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" cycle know very well that not all of George R. R. Martin's characters have made it from the pages of the books to the series. One such "forgotten" hero was John Connington, Lord of the Griffin's Roost and head of House Connington.

Biography

John is the only surviving son of Lord Armond Connington. From his youth he was a squire in King's Landing. First he served with the young Prince Reigar, and later for him. During the acquaintance, young people became close friends. For belonging to the House of Connington, the heir was given the nickname Grif.

During the rebellion led by Robert Baratheon, King Aerys Targaryen appointed Jon as his Hand. He hoped that Connington would succeed in putting down the rebellion. But he didn't make it. For this, after the Battle of the Bells, Aerys deprived the young man of all titles, lands, we alth and sent him into exile across the sea. There, John Connington joined the Golden Swords, served for 5 years. He was expelled for stealing the treasury. After that, John is rumored to have drunk himself in Lissa and died.

This is a brief history of John. now let's talk about his life path in more detail.

Appearance and character

Photos by John Connington are usually drawings by fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. For the first time, readers will learn about him in the book A Dance with Dragons. According to the estimates of the fans of the cycle, at that time he was over forty. His blue eyes are unusually cold. It seems to people that he does not have eyes, but two prickly pieces of ice, around which time has drawn wrinkles. While in exile, John dyed his fiery red hair blue in the Essex fashion and shaved his chin clean. On the way back to Westeros, he grew his beard again.

Kevan Lannister remembered Jon as a brave, stubborn, star-hungry and reckless youth. Thanks to these qualities, as well as his military talents and high origin, he became the right hand.

Later, an experienced fighter and a prudent commander appear before the reader. Jon is the strongest figure on Aegon Targaryen's side. Only he is able to put the young man on the throne.

John Connington and Rhaegar Targaryen

Young people became friends at a time when both were squires. John later entered Rhaegar's service and became his close friend.

Many readers suspect Grif is gay because of his too fond memories of his fallen comrades (Rheyegar and the captain of the Golden Swords Toine). Interestingly, George Michael himself did not refute these rumors, but, on the contrary, gave them a new round in one of his interviews. Also in favor of this theory is the fact that Grif was not interested in girls and could not stand Rhaegar's wife. He considered her unworthy of the "Silver Prince".

Bell Battle

Thanks to courage, perseverance, thirst for glory and martial ability, John became the Hand of King Aerys II. As a reward, he received the lands of Storm's End, although in fact the castle remained with Stannis Baratheon.

A significant battle took place at Ashford - the only defeat of Robert during the uprising. The wounded rebel left the battlefield and headed for the riverlands, where reinforcements awaited him. John Connington overtook the enemy in the small town of Stone Sept, and began to look for Robert in all the buildings of the city. But the inhabitants moved the wounded leader from house to house, so the royal army had no chance to find the fugitive. At this time, Stark, Tully and Arron came to the aid of Robert with an army. A fierce battle ensued on the streets of the city, nicknamed the Bell, because the septons rang the bells, urging the civilian population not to leave their homes.

John fought valiantly, but was defeated by the enemy's outnumbered forces. Despite this, he managed to withdraw the remnants of his army from the city. Grif could set the whole city on fire with Robert, but he wanted to win in a fair fight. Killing innocent townspeople he considered a low act.

After learning about the victory of the rebels, Aerys II deprived the Connington family of lands and we alth, and sent John overseas.

This is what John Connington himself says about the Battle of the Bells in A Dance with Dragons. Quote:

"The bells rang for all of us that day. For Aerys and his queen, for Elia of Dorne and her little daughter, forevery real man and honest woman in the Seven Kingdoms. And for my silver prince."

Exile to Essos

After losing everything, Grif arrived in Essos and joined the Golden Swords. He fought a lot and became famous in battles. Therefore, gradually over five years of service, John rose to the right hand of Captain-General Miles Toyne. But then he disappeared.

It was said that he was caught stealing the treasury, but these were rumors spread by the faithful birds of Varys. In fact, the eunuch offered John Connington to raise Rhaegar's rescued son. Although it is not known for certain whether this is true or not, Varys claimed that he managed to change the babies in the cradle, and thereby saved the heir to the Targaryen house.

Return to Westeros

When Aegon, nicknamed the Young Vulture, matured, the named father and son decided to return to Westeros and join the struggle for the iron throne. While traveling to Valantis along the River Rhoyne, Jon fishes Tyrion out of the water, who fell there during a fight with greyscale-infected. Having reached the city, Grif met with the captains of the Golden Swords and revealed to them his and his son's names. Connington discovered he had contracted greyscale but kept it a secret.

Leading the troops, John Connington returns to Westeros and immediately occupies his ancestral castle - the Griffin Roost. He sends a letter to King Tomen asking for a pardon to divert suspicion from the true motive of the return.

In The Winds of Winter, John Connington embarks on a successful campaign and takes over Storm's End -impregnable castle. Ægon Targaryen leads the attack.

John Connington in the series

John Connington does not appear in the Game of Thrones series. Part of his image goes to Jorah Mormont (rescued from the river Tirion and infected with greyscale). But at the end of the seventh season, it is mentioned that Queen Cersei summoned the Golden Company from Volantis. This gave fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire books a reason to hope that John would appear on the movie screens. There are many applicants for the role of Griffin. Consider each of them.

Kevin McKidd

This actor is known for his roles in TV series ("Rome", "Grey's Anatomy") and films ("Trainspotting", "Kingdom of Heaven") The creators of the series really hope that he will be able to join the shooting. But it's difficult because of Kevin's busy schedule. He plays one of the leading roles in the successful show Grey's Anatomy. Therefore, there is little chance of seeing this strong-willed man as John Connington in Game of Thrones. In the photo above, the actor in the image of Poseidon from the movie "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief"

Ben Daniels

This is a famous actor in England. He starred in the British version of Law & Order and in 2015 had a role in the mini-series Flesh and Bones. Now Ben is also involved in work on an interesting project "The Exorcist", where he appears in the form of a priest - an exorcist.

Tony Curran

Many people know this red-haired Scot who starred in almost a hundred films. The experience gained during the filming of Blade II, Warrior 13, Underworld: Evolution, X-Men: First Class, Gladiator will definitely help him when working on Thrones, and the historical surroundings and military uniforms are not new to him. No doubt this John Connington actor will do a great job.

Jason Isaacs

This actor is known to Potter fans all over the planet. His cold, vicious, cowardly character Lucius Malfoy turned out to be very convincing. But not only a harmful magician can boast of the appearance of Isaacs. Captain James Hook was also played by this talented actor. In 2017, Jason signed a contract to participate in a long-term project and became one of the inhabitants of the Star Trek universe. He plays the bad guy again in Star Trek: Discovery.

Sean Harris

This is another fiery red temperamental Englishman on this list. He also has experience filming historical projects. He gained a lot of fans, starring in the atmospheric series "Borgia". And in 2015, he took part in a new adaptation of the English classic Macbeth.

Decoupling close

Season 7 ended with many questions left unanswered. Who will become the king (queen) of Westeros? Does it matter if he winsNight King? Will Aegon Targaryen and his mentor Jon Connington be brought in, or will Daenerys' competitors not be added? But whoever joins the cast, the audience is waiting for the most powerful finale of the most expensive television saga. Filming this part of the final season is budgeted at $15 million. We are waiting for an extravaganza with many fights and spectacular special effects. The start of the season is scheduled for 2018. But due to the fact that each episode will be an hour and a half, and the script is written almost from scratch, shooting can be delayed. In this case, the Game of Thrones finale will be released in early 2019. Viewers can only look forward to an epic spectacle. In the meantime, you can review the already released series and reread the books.