Neil Fingleton, the man that played the giant that quickly stole the hearts of all Game of Thrones fans, has passed away this weekend. The actor behind Mag the Mighty passed away suddenly at the age of 36 from heart failure. His unexpected death caught his family, friends, and fans completely by surprise.
While Fingleton is most currently famous for his role in Game of Thrones, he was also deemed United Kingdom’s Tallest Man in 2007, counting in at a towering 7-foor-7inches, played the King Fisher monster in Doctor Who, and also played basketball for the North Carolina Tarheels. However, once out of college, he continued playing basketball for Great Britain, Spain, and Greece. After a back injury in 2000, Fingleton could no longer play basketball and that’s when he turned to acting.
Fingleton boldly embraced his individuality. He had this to say in an interview with BBC: ““There are tens of millions of people in this country, and I’m the tallest, which is a very special thing. So why not use it to my advantage and be recognized, not just for being tall but for being a talented actor.” In fact, he continued on to say, “This is the only bad thing about being tall – the stupid remarks and questions. Other than that, being tall is great.”
Unfortunately, Neil Figleton’s is not the only death suffered by the Game of Thrones family in the past few months. Peter Vaughan, known for his role as the blind Maester Aemon, passed away at the beginning of December. The famous British actor known for his roles in Prisoner and The Naked Runner passed away at the beginning of December at the age of 93.
The Nerd Stash sends its condolences to his family, friends, and fans as they deal with the loss of such an inspiring individual.
