Conleth Hill

Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is a Northern Irish actor. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two Tony Award nominations. He is best known for his role as Varys in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019).

Early life

Conleth Hill was born in Ballycastle in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He has an older brother who works as a cameraman, a sister who is a producer, and a younger brother, Ronan, who is a sound engineer who has won four Emmy Awards for his sound mixing on Game of Thrones.

Hill attended St MacNissi's College, Garron Tower and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama's (Clothworkers Company Scholar) acting programme in 1989.

Career

Hill made his Broadway debut in Marie Jones' Stones in His Pockets. For his work in the Canadian production of the play he received a Dora Mavor Moore Award. He played the German professor Max Staefel in a television adaptation of Goodbye, Mr Chips (2002). He played "Mum" to Peter Kay's character, Geraldine McQueen, in Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, a spoof on the talent show genre of programmes. He also played the role of Edward Darby in the television series Suits, alongside his Game of Thrones co-star, Michelle Fairley.

From 2011 to 2019, Hill appeared as Varys in the television series Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin hinted, in a February 2013 post on his website, that he thought Hill would be a good choice to play the title character in a TV show based on Martin's science fiction novel Tuf Voyaging. He also appeared as Carlos Santini in Season 3, Episode 4 of Derry Girls.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	A Man You Don't Meet Every Day	Michael
1998	Crossmaheart	Coulter	Also known as Dead Man's Girl (DVD)
2003	Intermission	Robert (Teacher)
2009	Whatever Works	Brockman
	Perrier's Bounty	Russ
	National Theatre Live: All's Well That End's Well	Parolles
2011	The Shore	Paddy	Short film
	National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard	Lopakhin
	Salmon Fishing in the Yemen	Bernard Sugden
2012	Whole Lotta Sole	Barber	Also known as Stand Off (North America)
	Keith Lemon: The Film	Delivery Man
2014	Shooting for Socrates	Jackie Fullerton
	Serena	Dr. Chaney
	The Good Word	Da Taggart	Short film
2015	Two Down	Harry Montague
	A Patch of Fog	Sandy Duffy
2016	The Truth Commissioner	Johnny Rafferty
	Two Angry Men	Ritchie McKee	Short film
2017	National Theatre Live: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	George
2018	The Isle	Douglas Innis	(Also executive producer)
2019	Official Secrets	Roger Alton
2020	Herself	Aido Deveney
	Here Are the Young Men	Mark Kearney
2021	To Olivia	Marty Ritt
	Infinitum: Subject Unknown	Professor Aaron Östergaard
2023	Tell Me a Creepy Story	Da Taggart	(Segment: The Good Word)
2026	Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie	TBA	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Boon	Second Pupil	Series 3; Episode 7: "Honourable Service"
1988	Casualty	Rob	Series 4; Episode 4: "Day Off"
1990	ScreenPlay	Soldier	Series 5; Episode 4: "The Englishman's Wife"
	Medics	Liam McGuinness	Series 1; Episode 4: "Niall"
1992	Bunch of Five	Roache	Episode 2: "Blue Heaven" (Pilot for series Blue Heaven)
	On the Up	Deliveryman	Series 3; Episode 1: "The Golf Tournament"
	Screen One	Neil	Series 4; Episode 8: "Trust Me"
1993	The Bill	Michael White	Series 9; Episode 40: "Hard Evidence"
1994	Blue Heaven	Roache	Episodes 1–6
	Lit by Love and Sunshine	Narrator
1995	Casualty	Theo	Series 9; Episode 24: "Duty of Care"
	Crown Prosecutor	Neville Osborn	Episode 9
1996	Out of the Deep Pan	Derek	Television film
2000	Meaningful Sex	Carl	Television short film
2001	TV to Go	Con	Series 1; Episode 2
2002	Goodbye, Mr. Chips	Max Staefel	Television film
2007	Ronni Ancona & Co	Various roles	Episodes 1–3
	The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle	Jared	Episodes 1–6
2008	Britain's Got the Pop Factor...	Geraldine's Mum	Television film (Reality show parody by Peter Kay)
2011–2019	Game of Thrones	Lord Varys	Recurring role (season 1), main role (seasons 2–8); 46 episodes
2012	Little Crackers	Sharon's Dad	Series 3; Episode 11: "Sharon Horgan's Little Cracker: The Week Before Christmas"
2013	Suits	Edward Darby	Seasons 2 & 3 (6 episodes)
2014	Inside No. 9	Stevie	Series 1; Episode 3: "Tom & Gerri"
	That Day We Sang	Frank	Television film
	Sherlock	Uncredited role	Episode: "The Empty Hearse"
2015	Foyle's War	Sir Ian Woodhead	Series 8; Episode 3: "Elise"
	Arthur & George	Sergeant Upton	Mini-series; Episodes 1–3
2017	Stan Lee's Lucky Man	Reverend Anthony Huxley	Series 2; Episode 2: "Playing with Fire"
	Peter Kay's Car Share	Elsie	Series 2; Episode 2: "The Smurf"
2018	Dave Allen at Peace	John Tynan-O'Mahony	Television film
	12 Monkeys	Interpol Agent Bonham	Series 4; Episodes 2 & 3: "Ouroboros" and "45 RPM"
	Hang Ups	Jon Pitt	4 episodes
2019	Doc Martin	Dr. Edward Mullen	Series 9; Episodes 4 & 6: "Paint It Black" and "Equilibrium"
	Dublin Murders	Superintendent O'Kelly	Episodes 1–8
2019–2024	Vienna Blood	Mendel Liebermann	Series 1–4 (12 episodes)
2022	Magpie Murders	Alan Conway	Episodes 1–6
	St. Mungo's	Pronsias Stevenson	Television film
	Holding	Sgt. PJ Collins	Episodes 1–4
	Why Didn't They Ask Evans?	Dr. Alwyn Thomas	Mini-series; Episode 1
	Derry Girls	Carlos Santini	Series 3; Episode 4: "The Haunting"
2023	The Lovers	Philip	Episodes 1 & 6
2023, 2025	The Power of Parker	Martin Parker	Series 1 & 2; 12 episodes
2024	3 Body Problem	Pope Gregory XIII	Series 1; Episode 3: "Destroyer of Worlds"
	Inside No. 9	Party Guest	Series 9; Episode 6: "Plodding On"
	The Cleaner	Brennan	Series 3; Episode 4: "The Lighthouse"
	Moonflower Murders	Alan Conway	Episodes 1, 2 & 4–6
2025	Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes	Commissioner Sir Ian Blair	Episodes 1–4

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes	Ref.
2012	Game of Thrones	Lord Varys	Based on the TV series of the same name

Audio books

Year	Book	Character	Publisher	Ref.
2008	Tamburlaine: Shadow of God by John Fletcher	Hafez	BBC Worldwide Ltd.
2009	Zurich (The Wire) by Pearse Elliott	Narrator

Radio

Date	Title	Role	Author	Director	Station
Template:Dts	The Man Who Came to Dinner		Moss Hart and George S Kaufman adapted for radio by Marcy Kahan	Ned Chaillet	BBC Radio 4
Template:Dts	Tricycles		Colin Teevan	Toby Swift	BBC Radio 3 The Wire
Template:Dts	The Travels of Marco Polo		Philip Palmer	Toby Swift	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
Template:Dts	Titanic letters	Reader, ep.33		Ciaran Hinds	BBC Radio Ulster
Template:Dts	The Biggest Issues	Jerry Cartwright	Annie McCartney	Eoin O'Callaghan	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Drama
2017	Big Country	JD Quinn	Patrick Kielty		BBC Radio Ulster

Theatre

Stage productions

• Winners by Brian Friel, as Joe; One day in summer in a garden as Uncle Jim, Incredible adventure of doctor Faustus as Mephistopheles secretary, Fools' bar Various Roles, Fringe Benefits Theatre Company (1984–85)
• The Adventures of a Bear Called Paddington, Various Roles, the Arts Theatre, Ardhowen Theatre, Belfast; Riverside Theatre, Coleraine (1986)
• West Side Story, as Bernardo - Leader of the Sharks, Ulster Youth Theatre (1986)
• Broken Nails by Damian Gorman, as Joe, St Peter's Cathedral in West Belfast (1988)
• Orlando, Guildhall School of Music and Drama (1988)
• Girl Crazy, Guildhall School of Music & Drama (1989)
• Little Shop of Horrors, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1989)
• The School for Wives as Horace, The John Player Theatre, The Arts Theatre (Belfast) (1989)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, as Dorian, Arts Theatre (Belfast) (1989)
• Too Late To Talk To Billy as John Fletcher, Arts Theatre, 1990
• Oliver Twist as Artful Dodger / Mr.Limbkins etc. Lyric Theatre (1990)
• Over the bridge by Sam Thompson as Ephraim Smart, Lyric Theatre (1990)
• Playboy of the Western World as Shawn Keogh, Lyric Theatre (1990)
• The Iceman Cometh as Willie Oban, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1990)
• The Importance of Being Earnest as Algernon, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1990)
• Leave him to heaven, The Arts Theatre (Belfast) (1991)
• Government inspector Playwright Marie Jones Adapted Nikolai Gogol, as Headmaster, The Rock Theatre (1993)
• Christmas Eve Can Kill You, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1994)
• Playboy of the Western World as Christy Mahon, Redgrave Theatre, Farnham (1994)
• Tall Tales for Small People (Tall Tales For Cold, Dark Nights), Communicado (Scotland) (1995)
• Eddie Bottom's dream by Marie Jones, as Puck, Lyric Theatre (Belfast)
• Stones in His Pockets as Charlie, Lyric Theatre (Belfast); Gaiety Theatre (Dublin); Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh); Tricycle, New Ambassadors, Duke of York's (London); Winter Garden Theatre (Toronto); Golden Theater, (New York) (1996 with Tim Murphy) (1999 with Sean Campion)
• No Stars On Sunday by Tim Loane, Old museum Arts Center (Belfast) (1998)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream as Nick Bottom, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1997)
• Playboy of the Western World as Christy Mahon, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1997)
• Shining Souls, Old Vic (London) (1997)
• The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman, as Semyon Podsekalnikov, Communicado (Scotland) (1997)
• Juno and the Paycock as Joxer Daly, Royal Lyceum (Edinburgh) (1998)
• Northern Star by Stewart Parker, as Henry Joy McCraken, Field Day/Tinderbox (1998)
• Christmas Carol, Communicado (Scotland) (1998)
• A Whistle in the Dark as Michael Carney, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1999)
• Criminal Genius as motel manager Phillie, Prime Cut Productions (Belfast) (1999)
• Waiting for Godot as Estragon, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1999)
• Conversations on a Homecoming as Michael, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (2002)
• After Darwin as Charles Darwin, Prime Cut Productions (Dublin and Belfast) (2002)
• The Chance as Daniel, Prime Cut Productions (Belfast) (2002)
• Democracy as Gunter Guillaume, National Theatre (London) (2003)
• The Producers as Roger DeBris, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (London) (2004)
• Shoot the Crow as Petesy, Trafalgar Studios (London); Royal Exchange Theatre (Manchester) (2005)
• Endgame as Hamm, Prime Cut Productions (Belfast) (2006)
• Philistines as Teterev, National Theatre (London) (2007)
• The Seafarer, as Ivan Curry, National Theatre (London); Booth Theatre (New York) (2007)
• Dallas Sweetman as Dallas Sweetman, Canterbury Cathedral (2008)
• All's Well that Ends Well as Parolles, National Theatre (London) (2009)
• Home Place as Richard, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (2009)
• STARS – A Ballycastle Nativity by Damian Gorman, Cross & Passion College and Ballycastle High School (Ballycastle) (2009)
• White Guard as Leonid Shervinskiy, National Theatre (London) (2010)
• The Cherry Orchard, as Lopakhin, National Theatre, London (2011)
• Uncle Vanya as Uncle Vanya, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (2011)
• Quartermaine's Terms, as Henry, Wyndham's Theatre, London (2013)
• Macbeth, as Macbeth, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley (2016)
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, as George, Harold Pinter Theatre, London (2017)
• SPUD, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) Director (2019)
• The Antipodes, as Sandy, National Theatre, London (2019)

King Lear, Dublin Gate Theatre (2025)

Awards and nominations

• 2000 Irish Times award, for Stones in His Pockets
• 2001 Olivier Awards, Best Actor, for Stones in His Pockets
• 2001 Tony Award nomination, Best Actor in a Play, for Stones in His Pockets
• 2001 Drama Desk Award, Special Award, for Stones in His Pockets
• 2001 Outer Critics Circle Award, for Stones in His Pockets
• 2001 Whatsonstage award, Best Actor for Stones in His Pockets
• 2001 Dora Awards, for Stones in His Pockets
• 2005 The Critics Circle Theatre Awards, winner of Best Musical for "The Producers"
• 2005 Olivier Awards, Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical, for The Producers
• 2008 Tony Award nomination, Best Featured Actor in a Play, for The Seafarer
• 2008 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, for The Seafarer
• 2011–2016 nominated for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Game of Thrones

External links

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