Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an Irish actor. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two Tony Award nominations. He is best known for his role as Varys in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019).

Early life

Conleth Hill was born in Ballycastle in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He has an older brother who works as a cameraman, a sister who is a producer, and a younger brother, Ronan, who is a sound engineer who has won four Emmy Awards for his sound mixing on Game of Thrones. Hill attended St MacNissi's College, Garron Tower and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama's (Clothworkers Company Scholar) acting programme in 1989.

Career

Hill made his Broadway debut in Marie Jones' Stones in His Pockets. For his work in the Canadian production of the play he received a Dora Mavor Moore Award. He played the German professor Max Staefel in a television adaptation of Goodbye, Mr Chips (2002). He played "Mum" to Peter Kay's character, Geraldine McQueen, in Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, a spoof on the talent show genre of programmes. He also played the role of Edward Darby in the television series Suits, alongside his Game of Thrones co-star, Michelle Fairley. From 2011 to 2019, Hill appeared as Varys in the television series Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin hinted, in a February 2013 post on his website, that he thought Hill would be a good choice to play the title character in a TV show based on Martin's science fiction novel Tuf Voyaging. He appeared in Series 2 episode 2 of Peter Kay's Car Share as Elsie, the drunk deli counter supervisor dressed as Smurfette. He also appeared as Carlos Santini in Season 3, Episode 4 of Derry Girls.

Filmography

Films

Television

Video games

Audio books

Radio

Theatre

Stage productions

Awards and nominations