For Reference, This Is What the ‘Game of Thrones’ Night King Looks Like IRL

Despite his years of wreaking havoc on Westeros, the Night King’s assault on Winterfell in last night’s episode of Game of Thrones was especially infuriating. I don’t know if it was his I-walk-slow-because-I’m-a-villain vibe or his dumb smile after he survived Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Drogon’s fire assault, but I found myself getting, like, really mad at him…despite the fact that he’s not a real person. You know who is a real person, though? Vladimir Furdik, the actor who plays him.

Although Furdik plays enemy number one on TV, in real life he appears to be nothing like the Night King (thankfully). He’s a celebrated stuntman (he even does stunts and stunt supervision on GoT) who enjoys ice cream, babies, traveling and horses just like the rest of us. At the very least, he looks like a totally normal guy, not an evil being out to erase mankind. Just take a gander at this photo of him IRL and wait for your anger to dissipate.

Nice guy, right? I mean, the caption of the above photo is even, “I wish all the people in the world the best.” Point. Made.

But the dissimilarities don’t stop there. Unlike the now dead (hurrah!) Night King and his abysmal attitude, Furdik does not, in fact, have horns or icy blue eyes. A highly skilled team of Game of Thrones makeup artists with a knack for prosthesis gussy him up with all of that before he films a scene.

Furdik began playing the Night King in season six, after Richard Brake (the OG Night King) exited the series. He’s also played small parts in Prometheus, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and handled stunts for a slew of movies like Skyfall, Robin Hood, The Chronicles of Narnia and more. 

Fingers crossed his next character isn’t as…undead.