Conleth Hill

Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill was born in Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on November 24, 1964. He has three siblings, all of whom are involved in the show business. His elder brother is a cameraman, his sister is a producer, and his younger brother, a sound engineer—who is also a member of the infamous ‘Game of Thrones’ crew—won three ‘Emmy Awards’ for his sound mixing on the show. Hill went to ‘St MacNissi's College’ from where he graduated. Later he enrolled in the ‘Guildhall School of Music and Drama’ for their acting program, graduating in 1988.

Hill has always maintained a very private life and is not married as of 2017. He has also expressed his unwillingness to join the social media, something in his own words he ‘has never been into, and never will be’.

Conleth Hill’s debut Broadway performance was in the Canadian production of the play ‘Stones in His Pockets’, a Marie Jones production, for which he won a ‘Dora Mavor Moore’ award. Following this, he went on to perform in various television shows. He first appeared in the series ‘Boon’ in 1988 and then in the same year he appeared in ‘Casualty’.

After playing small roles in a couple of productions, Hill appeared in ‘Blue Heaven’ as ‘Roache’. He played this character in seven episodes between 1992 and 1994. In 2002, he played the role of German professor ‘Max Staefel’ in the television adaptation of ‘Goodbye Mr. Chips’. In 2007, he appeared in six episodes as ‘Jared’ on the show ‘The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle’.

His biggest break on television came in 2011 when he was picked for the role of ‘Lord Varys’, a very mysterious and intimidating character, in the HBO television drama series ‘Game of Thrones’, based on the novel series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ by George R. R. Martin. In the very first season, his performance drew much attention and the popularity of the show also helped him gain a larger fan base among the audience.

He reprised his role in the subsequent seasons of the show and his character grew stronger and stranger as the show progressed. In the coming seasons of the show, Hill’s character of ‘Lord Varys’ appeared to be gaining more significance in way the twists and turns were developing in the storyline. As the series is closing towards an end, his character can be seen playing even more crucial roles.

Simultaneously with appearing in ‘Game of Thrones’ between 2011 and 2017, he also played some important roles in other television shows like ‘Edward Darby’ in ‘Suits’, ‘Sergeant Upton’ in ‘Arthur & George’, and ‘Elsie’ in ‘Peter Kay's Car Share’.