Lord Varys is one of those characters in Game of Thrones that was so mysterious yet so perfectly suited for his role that he developed his own cultic following. The bald eunuch always had a solution for the problem at hand with his large network of "whisperers" to help.
The man tasked with displaying this role was Conleth Hill, a veteran British actor whose appearance on the show was very different from what he looks like in real life. Conleth is actually a versatile man with some strange similarities to Lord Varys than you would expect.
He Is From A Family Of Artists
Conleth Hill is a soft-spoken man just like Lord Varys and rarely talks about his family in interviews, but he does have celebrity siblings. He went to Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London before diving into acting.
He still lives in his childhood town of Ballycastle in County Antrim, Ireland, although his career now allows him to travel worldwide. The most famous of his siblings is Ronan Hill, who also worked on Game of Thrones as a sound engineer. He also has a sister who is a film producer and an older brother that works as a cameraman, although little is known about the two.
Other Major Roles Away From Game Of Thrones
Conleth Hill's career started in 1988, immediately after he finished drama school in the British crime drama Boon. He had a minor role as the second pupil. His career, however, boomed in the shadows in Broadway since his debut in 1996 in Stones in His Pockets. On TV, Conleth hasn't had any roles bigger than Lord Varys throughout his career but has made appearances on some great shows.
He portrayed Edward Darby in Suits in 2013 for six episodes. He also appeared as an Interpol agent in 12 Monkeys. His TV roles have increased since leaving Game of Thrones as he has appeared in Dublin Murders, Viena Blood, and Doc Martin all in 2019. He has also been in a bunch of movies since 2009, including the lead role in A Patch of Fog in 2015.
His Relationship With Othe Game Of Thrones Stars
Lord Varys doesn't have much of a social life in Game of Thrones except his chats with Littlefinger and later Tyrion Lannister. Aidan Gillen, who plays Littlefinger, doesn't seem to be that close with Conleth Hill, but Peter Dinklage does. Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, refused to wear the long shoes that Varys wears in the show, and he and Conleth seem to have kicked off a bromance since their first season together.
Conleth's best friends from the show are Iain Glen, who plays Jorah Mormont, and Liam Cunningham, who played Ser Davos. The three said they are like family, and Conleth called himself "Kenny Rogers Junior" because of his freshly grown grey beard when they showed up together for the release of Season 8.
Going Bald To Become Varys
Many stars had to change a lot to fit into their Game of Thrones characters, and Conleth wasn't spared despite playing a rather non-intense role. That humble look of a bald, down-to-earth guy isn't exactly what Conleth looks like in his daily life. Lord Varys is a eunuch who has to be fat so he had to gain some weight, and the baldness meant he had to shave.
Conleth said he had to shave his hair and beard every July when filming began, and it felt weird during the first few days of the show, but he later got used to it. He also said in an interview that his hair was used to make Rory McCann's fake beard for The Hound. He later confessed that he was happy to finally keep his hair when the show was finally over.
He Doesn't Like Action Scenes
Lord Varys rarely got himself involved with anything violent except by proxy when he ordered the murder of Daenerys Targaryen. Varys character may actually have something to do with Conleth's personality. The closest Varys got to a fight was during The Great War in Winterfell when he struggled to take the children to safety from the Whitewalkers.
It is not clear whether the choice of non-violent scenes only was Conleth's choice, but he said in an interview that he hasn't run since the 80s and that he doesn't like action scenes.
His Love Life
Conleth Hill's personal life is a mystery as he stayed away from the spotlight for most of his life and rarely gave interviews until after he landed the role of Varys. However, unlike Lord Varys, Conleth isn't a Eunuch and may have a partner after all.
In an interview with the Commonwealth Club of California, Conleth said that he has a daughter who just wants to be famous. But she is not sure what for, yet. There are no more details about his relationship with her or any members of his family, for that matter, because he prefers to stay tight-lipped about them.
He Doesn't Live A Celebrity Lifestyle
Lord Varys preferred to stay in the background despite being one of the most important people in Westeros and later in Daenerys Targaryen's small council. Conleth's reserved lifestyle with little to no celebrity indulgences make him very similar to his Game of Thrones character.
Conleth Hill prefers to stay in the background and considers "celebrity life" a fallacy that he doesn't want in his life. He said that the media stays away from him, and he prefers his closed lifestyle, which is why he doesn't consider himself a famous person. His reserved lifestyle is one of the reasons why he doesn't appear in the spotlight like the rest of the Game of Thrones stars despite having been in the industry for over 20 years.
His Brother Won More Awards Than Him In Game Of Thrones
Conleth Hill's performance in Game of Thrones earned him the nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for the Best Performance by an Ensemble in a drama series, which was well deserved although he didn't win it. His brother Ronan Hill was, however, the hero of the sound crew as he won four Emmy awards for his sound mixing on the show.
It was more of a shared victory for the family, although unfair for Conleth, who was more prominent on the screens than Ronan. However, his stage acting debut in Stones in His Pockets won him a Tony Award nomination and an Oliver award. He has also bagged some big awards for his work on the stage and nominations for TV action, but nothing big for TV or film so far.
He Mourned Varys' Death
The last season of the show came with some big deaths, but no one expected Varys' death. Lord Varys met one of the saddest deaths in the eight seasons of the show. Everyone mourned when Drogon's flames consumed him. Conleth was also deeply invested in Varys and hoped that the star would last until the very end.
He was never called to be warned about his character's death and wasn't expecting it to happen anyway. Even though bigger names were killed off in Game of Thrones, Varys had risen to a level of vital importance, and Conleth felt like it was his fault when Varys died. He thought he had "done something wrong," and nothing could console him afterward.
His Opinion On The End Of Game Of Thrones
The last season of Game of Thrones faced a backlash as everyone felt the producers hurried it and didn't do justice to the show's cultic following. Conleth's biggest issue with the last season was the sad end of his character, but he didn't have a problem with how the show ended.
He said that he felt selfish for feeling bad about Varys' death but that his experience throughout the show was "brilliant." He also understood the frustrations of the fans because they had waited for such a long time for the final season and had huge expectations for each character.