Irish actors have had a big spotlight shone on it over the past year. Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, Andrew Ryan, Barry Keoghan, and Cillian Murphy all dominated Hollywood in recent times. We are now set to see a new Irish name hit the screens as Peter Claffey was announced as the lead for the new Game of Thrones prequel.
What makes the news of Peter Claffey landing the lead role even more interesting is the fact that he is a former rugby player, representing Ireland at underage level and being part of Connacht for three years.
Claffey was a lock in his playing days, coming playing schools rugby for Garbally College before joining the Connacht academy in 2015. It was while at the academy that he achieved his highest honour as a player, being selected for the Ireland squad for the 2016 U20 Six Nations.
It was a very talented team, with many of the players starring later in the year as Ireland reach the final of the U20s World Cup. There were six future Irish Internationals to come from that team in the form of James Ryan, Andrew Porter, Jacob Stockdale, Will Connors, Hugo Keenan and Jimmy O'Brien, while Max Deegan and Shane Daly were also part of the squad.
Claffey would play a part in that tournament, starting in four matches as Ireland finished third.
Irish rugby star lands lead role in new Game of Thrones prequel
Peter Claffey left Connacht in 2018 having not made a senior appearance for the province and retrained as an actor.
He made his professional stage debut in the 2022 and by 2023 Claffey picked up roles in Apple TV's Bad Sisters and then had a role in BBC Three horror comedy Wrecked.
HBO announced yesterday that Claffey will now star as Ser Duncan the Tall in the new Game of Thrones prequel A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight which is set to air on MAX. Claffey's former employers at Connacht were quick to congratulate him on the fantastic achievement
Incredible news for our former player Peter Claffey, who’s been cast in a leading role in the Game of Thrones prequel!
Congrats Peter from all of us in the club. Don’t forget your rugby roots when you’re famous 🏉🌟 https://t.co/7ioqTbWJxp
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) April 5, 2024
Claffey has definitely had an interesting career path up to now and we can't wait to see how he gets on in his newest venture.
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