Growing Up Game of Thrones: How the Cast Has Changed - E! Online

Can you believe it's been eight years since we first learned winter is coming?

Well, winter has arrived on Game of Thrones, and the characters are set for an epic showdown on the upcoming eighth and final season.

The cast and characters have certainly come a long way since the HBO fantasy series' 2011 debut. Original stars Sophie Turner, 23, who plays Sansa Stark, and Maisie Williams, who plays her warrior sister Arya Stark, 21, were just teenagers when the first season aired. The two have grown to become beautiful young women, Turner is now also an X-Men movie star, and she is also set to join House Jonas; she and Joe Jonas got engaged in 2017.

Speaking of romantic couples, Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, last year married Rose Leslie, who played his character's first onscreen love interest. The two were all smiles at the Game of Thrones season eight premiere in New York on Wednesday.

See photos of the Game of Thrones cast and characters in their first season and see how much they've changed.

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Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark

My oh my has Sansa Stark changed. Sophie Turner's Game of Thrones character has grown into her own. 

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Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen

All hail the queen! Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen has been through her fair share of fire (literally) and emerged intent on reigning over the Seven Kingdoms.

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Maisie Williams as Arya Stark

Has anybody changed more than Maisie Williams' Arya Stark? Aside from the growing up thing, Arya Stark has come into her own, rebounding from blindness and becoming one badass woman.

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Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister

Wigs come and go, but Lena Headey's Cersei Lannister remains deadly and cunning.

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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister

He's down a hand and been through quite a number of experiences, but Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Jaime Lannister is still around and kicking in season eight of Game of Thrones.

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Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

Beards make the man, according to some, and Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister listened. A few scars over the eight seasons never hurt anybody.

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Kit Harington as Jon Snow

Kit Harington's Jon Snow embraced the man-bun after his brush with death. Well, it was more than a brush with death, he actually died. Now he's alive and well, reunited with his sisters and in a relationship and alliance with Daenerys Targaryen.

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Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth

Gwendoline Christie burst onto the scene as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones season two. She has a long history with Jaime Lannister, but is currently aligned with Sansa Stark.

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Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth

Liam Cunningham's character first debuted in season two when he set sail with Melisandre. He was instrumental in bringing Jon Snow back to life in season six and is his confidant now in season seven.

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Aidan Gillen as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish

Aidan Gillen made his debut on Game of Thrones in season one.

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Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei

Nathalie Emmanuel joined Game of Thrones as Missandei in season three of the hit HBO drama. She was a slave interpreter before joining team Dany.

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John Bradley as Samwell Tarly

John Bradley has been playing Samwell since the beginning of the series.

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Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy

From Stark hostage in season one to team Dany in season eight, Alfie Allen's Theon Greyjoy has been put through quite a few ordeals during his time on Game of Thrones.

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Conleth Hill as Varys

Conleth Hill's Varys has been around since the first season of Game of Thrones. The eunuch is now aligned with Daenerys Targaryen.

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Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark

Isaac Hempstead Wright debuted as Bran Stark in the first season of the HBO fantasy hit drama. After appearing in seasons one-four, he sat season five out, only to return for season six and face the death of his companion, Hodor.

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Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane

Kristofer Hivju popped up as Wildling Tormund Giantsbane in season three of Game of Thrones. He eventually aligns himself with Jon Snow.

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Carice van Houten as Melisandre

The red hair color may change, but Carice van Houten as Melisandre stays the same year after year. Viewers owe a lot to her, she brought Jon Snow back to life and gave us that great meme moment when she took off her necklace and revealed her true form.

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Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont

One of the few to survive from season one to the current season seven, Iain Glen's Jorah Mormont started as an exiled knight serving Daenerys Targaryen. By season six, he revealed to Dany he was stricken with greyscale and she instructs him to get better, she will need his counsel.

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Hannah Murray as Gilly

Hannah Murray first showed up as Gilly in Game of Thrones season two and went on the run with Samwell in season three, finally reaching Oldtown in season six.

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Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell

Diana Rigg made her Game of Thrones debut as Lady Olenna Tyrell (or the Queen of Thorns) in season three. Eventually she joins team Dany after meeting with Ellaria Sand in Dorne. And tell Cersei...she wants her to know it was her.

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Jerome Flynn as Bronn

Jerome Flynn debuted as Bronn in season one of Game of Thrones. He was instrumental in helping Jaime learn to fight with his left hand and returned to King's Landing with Jaime.

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HBO; Andrew H. Walker/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo

The actor who played Daenerys Targaryen's beloved barbarian husband in season one went on to become none other than Aquaman in the new DC movies. He also stars on the show Frontier. He and Emilia Clarke are friends and occasionally get together.

HBO; Andrew H. Walker/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Jack Gleeson as King Joffrey

The actor who played the psychopathic teen monarch has not acted in recent years. He attended the Game of Thrones season eight premiere in New York and reunited with Sophie Turner, much to her fiancé Joe Jonas' mock horror.

HBO; Getty Images

Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark

The actress who played the Stark family matriarch has in recent years appeared on shows such as 24: Live Another Day, and The White Princess.

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HBO; Getty Images

Sean Bean as Nedd Stark

The actor who played the Stark family patriarch has in recent years appeared on shows such as Legends, Wasted, The Frankenstein Chronicles, The Oath, Medici, and Curfew.

HBO; Andrew H. Walker/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Rose Leslie as Ygritte

Ygritte was Jon Snow's first onscreen love. In 2018, the actress married Kit Harington, the actor who plays him. In recent years, she has appeared on shows such as Luther and The Good Fight.

HBO; Andrew H. Walker/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell

The actress has in recent years appeared on on shows like Penny Dreadful and recently portrayed a character in the Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance reboot series.

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HBO; WireImage

Pedrol Pascal as Oberyn Martell

The actor played Javier Peña on Netflix's Narcos and also stars in Wonder Woman 1984 and the new Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

HBO; Getty Images

Richard Madden as Robb Stark

The actor who played the King of the North went on to star on the show Bodyguard on Netflix and also played the prince in Disney's live-action movie Cinderella.

HBO; Getty Images

Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen

The actor who played Game of Thrones not-so-golden boy and evil brother of Daenerys Targaryen in season one went on to star on shows such as The Fear, Manhattan, Marcella, Hang Ups, Counterpart, and Legion.

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Rory McCann as The Hound

Sandor Clegane, or The Hound, is one of the most dangerous men in Westeros. Rory McCann made his Game of Thrones debut in the first season and appeared through seasons two-four. He was left to die in season four, but surprise! He returned in season six.

HBO; Getty Images

Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar

Valar morghulis! The actor, whose character trained Arya Stark to become an assassin, has in recent years appeared on shows such as Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, plus Das Boot in his native Germany.

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Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion

David Michael Scott originated the role of Beric Dondarrion in the first season of Game of Thrones, with Richard Dormer taking it over for season three.

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Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy

What a difference a season makes! Pilou Asbæk made his Game of Thrones debut as Euron Greyjoy in season six.

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Indira Varma As Ellaria Sand

Indira Varma made her Game of Thrones debut in season four. Ellaria Sand quickly (well, over a few seasons) became the ruler of Dorne and aligned herself with Daenerys Targaryen.

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Drogon

They grow up so fast!

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The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will premiere on HBO on Sunday, April 14.

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2019-04-04 17:57:00Z
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New Chicago Mayor's First Order Of Business: Getting To The Bottom Of The Jussie Smollett Case - The Daily Wire

Chicago's new mayor, Lori Lightfoot, hasn't even been sworn in yet, and she already has a top priority: figuring out exactly what is going on in Cook County Prosecutor Kim Foxx's office.

Lightfoot, who won Chicago's mayoral election by a near-50 point margin on Tuesday, is the city's first black female (and first openly gay) mayor, campaigned largely as an outsider to the Chicago machine. Lightfoot is, herself, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, who served at the head of Chicago's Police Board and Police Accountability Board after leaving legal practice for public service.

Foxx and others had likely hoped the change in leadership, from outgoing mayor Rahm Emanuel to incoming mayor Lightfoot, might take some of the pressure off the prosecutor's office, which has been under a microscope since dropping 17 charges leveled against "Empire" star Jussie Smollett for allegedly faking a hate crime back in January.

No such luck.

In an interview with MSNBC Wednesday, Lightfoot pledged to get to the bottom of the Smollett case, and suggested that Smollett needs to be "held accountable."

“The State’s Attorney’s office here which made the decision unilaterally to drop the charges has to give a much more fulsome explanation,” Lightfoot said, according to The Wrap.

"We cannot create the perception that if you’re rich or famous or both that you got one set of justice and for everybody else, it’s something much harsher. That won’t do, and we need to make sure that we have a criminal justice system that has integrity," she continued. "The state’s attorney’s office has to provide more information about the rationale for the decision to drop the charges."

When asked about the evidence for prosecuting Smollett, and whether she believed Smollett was innocent of the charges, which came from both the prosecutor's office and a grand jury, Lightfoot was non-committal.

“I saw…a very compelling case," she said, "with videotapes, witness statements, and other information that looked like he had staged a hoax. And if that happens, he’s got to be held accountable.”

Lightfoot's words echo those of current mayor Rahm Emanuel, who called Foxx's office's actions in dropping the case against Smollett a "whitewash of justice." Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson have repeatedly decried the decision, and the Chicago Department of Law has issued a $130,000 bill to Smollett for restitution, to pay for police overtime hours racked up investigating Smollett's "hate crime."

Smollett has so far, through his attorneys, refused to pay.

Lightfoot, of course, has no reason to stand behind Foxx. Lightfoot's opponent in the recent mayor race was Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle, a friend and mentor to Foxx, who supported Foxx's campaign for State's Attorney (Foxx was Preckwinkle's chief of staff during Preckwinkle's first years leading Cook County). Foxx is far more closely aligned with the existing Democratic "machine" in Chicago, and Lightfoot clearly wants to prove she's an independent mayor.

The situation does not bode well for Foxx. In addition to Lightfoot's lack of confidence, police chiefs from nearly every jurisdiction in Cook County signed a letter expressing "no confidence" in the Cook County prosecutor's office. Foxx's Smollett decision is just the tip of the iceberg; police are now concerned that the prosecutor's kinder, gentler treatment of criminals has made Cook County less safe, especially in light of the death of an off-duty Chicago Police officer at the hands of a man who was released from probation despite having a violent past.

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2019-04-04 17:23:21Z
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‘BTS Paved The Way’: BTS Fans Trend Support on Twitter After K-pop Group’s Two Billboard ‘Top Group’ Nominations, Including ‘Top Group’ - Newsweek

Globally-renowned K-pop Group BTS was nominated for two Billboard Music Awards, including Top Group on Thursday morning. Fans were proud of how the band is leading the way for K-pop artists alike. The BTS Army spoke loudly on Twitter Thursday morning and claimed the group is “paving the way.” This phrase quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, along with the hashtag #BTSBillboardTopGroup, which was the number one trend worldwide.

The trending threads were filled with fans of all kinds, from those who have been supporting BTS since their start—a few said it’s incredible to see their favorite group receive such a high honor after so much time—as well as admirers who are passionately gearing up for BTS’s next album, Map of the Soul: Persona, which will be released on April 12.

Along with Top Group, BTS was nominated for Top Social Artist. This comes as no surprise, as BTS has held the title for the award since 2017, when they took the crown from Justin Bieber who had won the award each year from 2011 to 2016. It’s also no surprise because BTS was the most tweeted about celebrity group on Twitter in 2018, according to a list published by Vogue.

The most intriguing part of Thursday’s celebration, however, may be the phrase “BTS Paved The Way,” which started trending at number 13 on Twitter worldwide, and quickly shot to number 3 at the hand of fans who used the phrase as many times as possible in one tweet. So what, exactly did BTS pave the way for? And how?

BTS fan Olivia Valencia, who lives in the Philippines and uses Twitter username @glyjinstanbts, told Newsweek the phrase comes from a fan-wide understanding that BTS’s break into global fandom has and will pave the way for other K-pop groups who crave western exposure.

According to Valencia, when BTS was first nominated for Top Group in 2017, other K-pop fandoms attacked the BTS Army and claimed they were searching for Western validation. In a series of screenshots Valencia preserved from conversations with competing group fans, many claimed the Billboard Top Social Artist award was “meaningless” and claimed their groups did not need a nomination to be considered “legendary.” Since then, Valencia claimed the fandoms who once tore BTS down now mimic the successful BTS fan behavior online that skyrocketed BTS to global attention. They do this by tagging their favorite groups in posts to hit Twitter algorithms and trying to get key phrases trending.

It’s the exact formula BTS fans execute so well. The second BTS does something notable—which happens very often—as a collective, the Army is able to trend a topic, phrase or even their own hashtag #BTSArmy or #ArmyArmyArmy in celebration.

Valencia explained how BTS has paved the way with originality in a K-pop community saturated with acts who assume they must be perfect and adhere to strict guidelines. "BTS really paved the way," she explained. "Like seriously, K-pop is nothing more than an industry that produces very manufactured groups. I feel really happy that there's a K-pop group like BTS that writes and produces their own music, and speaks of real life struggles. something I can relate to." 

Though BTS is paving the way in K-pop, Valencia explained their success is relevant to any artists aiming to break into the American market. She referenced prior articles in Newsweek, as well as BTS articles in publications like Forbes and Teen Vogue. "As someone from Asia, we would be extremely awed if an Asian artist would be featured in international or global papers." 

Though fans exclaim BTS have paved the way with their talent and global reach, it’s undeniable the fandom has played a role in the group’s mega-exposure over time, as the community shows the reach of a single group when a world-wide collective stands proudly together.

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2019-04-04 15:30:00Z
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Sophie Turner Reveals Which Celebrity Will Be Her Maid of Honor! - Just Jared

Sophie Turner has revealed that her Game of Thrones co-star and bestie Maisie Williams is one of her maids of honor in her wedding to Joe Jonas!

Sophie revealed the news to ET when she heard that Maisie was musing about what she would be wearing to the wedding nuptials.

“I don’t know why she’s thinking about [what she's wearing to my wedding],” Sophie told the publication. “I’m giving her the bridesmaid dress! She’s my maid of honor! One of two.”

Sophie and Joe‘s wedding is expected to take place this summer.

See some recent photos of Sophie and Maisie in NYC this week…

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Photos: Wenn, Getty

Posted to: Joe Jonas, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner

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2019-04-04 15:19:11Z
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