Game of Thrones actor JJ Murphy dies four days into filming

Actor JJ Murphy has died just four days into filming his scenes for the new season of HBO’s fantasy epic Game of Thrones.

The Belfast-born actor, who was 86, was cast to play the role of Ser Denys Mallister, the oldest member of the Night’s Watch, in the fifth season of the adaptation of George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. He reportedly collapsed and died on Friday, 8 August, having shot only a few scenes in the role.

According to his agent Phillip Young, Murphy was “absolutely delighted”, to be cast “in one of the biggest productions in the world at this stage in his career.”

Having been working in the Northern Irish theatre scene from the late 1940s, Murphy was an active member of Equity, the British actors’ union, and had worked for years at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre. His death, says Young, is a “tragic loss” and comes at the end of a “long and full career”.

Murphy was no stranger to book adaptations; his past film credits include the film version of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. Gary Shore’s big budget film Dracula Untold, which will be released in October of this year, features Murphy as a village elder.

Game of Thrones producers are yet to confirm whether they intend to recast his part, or order a rewrite of the scenes he had been set to film.