How Game of Thrones created some of the MOST EVIL characters on TV (Long read)

HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones is adapted from the hefty A Song of Ice and Fire novels by American author George RR Martin, who is still writing the books. Martin has created a rich and vibrant world with textured and weighty characters to match his epic story, cherrypicking from history across the globe. Game of Thrones the TV series has brought Martin’s world to life on the small screen and in the process some of the evilest characters to date. However, Martin’s villains are not all black and white in terms of their perceived evilness.

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Speaking about creating his villains, Martin said in an interview with PBS last year: “I don’t try to write anyone who’s, ‘Oh, I’m a villain. Let me get up today and just go out and do villainy and pull the world to darkness...'

“They all have grievances. They all have wounds, and they have things that drive them to do the things that they do.”

He went on to say he didn’t want to create “cookie cutter” baddies instead, he wanted to bring complexity to these characters.

Martin has previously said in an interview with Collider from 2011: “I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I’m writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.”

He continued: “Even the characters who are perhaps not the nicest people in the world, and who are deeply flawed and might even be considered villains, if I am writing from their viewpoint, I have to identify with them.

“Nobody is a villain in their own story. We’re all the heroes of our own stories.

“So, when I am inside the head of a character who would otherwise be considered a villain, I have a great deal of affection for that character and I’m trying to see the world and the events through their eyes.”

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Game of Thrones villains: Ramsay Bolton was the most brutalGame of Thrones villains: Ramsay Bolton was the most brutal (Image: SKY)

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from all seasons of Game of Thrones

Ramsay Bolton

Perhaps the biggest villain of Game of Thrones is Ramsay Bolton (played by Iwan Rheon), who eventually got his comeuppance in the end.

Not only did he sadistically torture Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), transforming the arrogant Ironborn into a former shadow of himself and into his “pet” Reek, he also raped Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner).

To add to his litany of crimes, Ramsay killed his father Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), his step-mother and infant half-brother after finding out he was no longer the heir to House Bolton and Winterfell.

Reflecting on playing Ramsay, Rheon told GQ: “I try not to bring my work home with me. The thing about Ramsay is that because he's actually happy, it's weirdly easier to play than characters that are introverted, carrying all their darkness inside.

“That makes it more tiring. You kind of let everything out with Ramsay. But there are the scenes you sort of dread, obviously—these horrific things he does. But it's okay. I'm quite good at detaching.”

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Game of Thrones villains: Joffrey Baratheon was the most evilGame of Thrones villains: Joffrey Baratheon was the most evil (Image: SKY)

Joffrey Baratheon

Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) was perhaps the first big bad villain of Game of Thrones. Initially, a bratty member of the Westeros royal family, his true evil and insanity came out at the end of season one when he ordered the beheading of Ned Stark (Sean Bean).

His evil showed no bounds after he forced two prostitutes to beat each other for his warped gratification and murdered Westerosi call girl Ros (Esmé Bianco) with his crossbow.

Again, he met a sticky end at the Purple Wedding when he was poisoned and choked to death in a Tyrell conspiracy.

“Playing Joffrey was more of a challenge because, as an actor, you always try to empathise with the character you’re playing and you try to understand them,” actor Gleeson explained at the IGN Convention in 2016.

He went on to day: “Even though how Joffrey behaves – he has no redeeming qualities – I tried to take pity on that and understand that all his evil acts are because of how he was brought up and the influences he had as a child. I just tried to cut him some slack.”

Some have suggested Joffrey was inspired by the Roman emperor Caligula due to his sadistic tendencies and sexual predilections.

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Game of Thrones villains: Tywin Lannister is a puppet masterGame of Thrones villains: Tywin Lannister is a puppet master (Image: SKY)

Tywin Lannister

Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) proved to be a formidable foe and engineered not only for his daughter Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) to become the queen of Westeros but orchestrated the Red Wedding.

The patriarch of House Lannister was pulling lots of

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