Tormund Giantsbane

Tormund Giantsbane
A Song of Ice and Fire character Game of Thrones character
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane
First appearance	Novel: A Storm of Swords (2000) Television: "Valar Dohaeris" (2013)
Created by	George R. R. Martin
Portrayed by	Kristofer Hivju Game of Thrones
Information
Aliases	Tormund Giantsbane Mead-King of Ruddy Hall Tormund Thunderfist Tormund Horn-Blower Tormund Tall-Talker Breaker of Ice Husband to Bears Speaker to Gods Father of Hosts
Gender	Male
Children	Toregg Torwynd Dryn Dormund Munda
Nationality	Westerosi

Tormund Giantsbane is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.

Introduced in 2000's A Storm of Swords, he is a wildling from the fictional continent of Westeros. He subsequently appeared in Martin's A Dance with Dragons.^[1]

Tormund Giantsbane is portrayed by Kristofer Hivju in the HBO television adaptation.^[2][3][4]

Character description

Tormund, better known as Tormund Giantsbane or Tormund Thunderfist, is a wildling raider. He is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, especially Jon Snow.^[5]

Storylines

In the books

When Jon Snow gets captured, Tormund is among those in Mance Rayders tent whom Jon is presented to. He later becomes the new leader of the remnants of the wildling army after Mance gets captured.^[6]

In the show

Tormund is played by Kristofer Hivju in the television adaption of the series of books.^[7] He is one of Mance's top generals, fierce and terrible in combat.

Third season

When Jon Snow first arrives in the Wildling camp, he initially mistakes Tormund for Mance Rayder, much to Tormund's amusement. Mance directs Tormund to lead a group of Wildlings including Jon Snow and his captor, Ygritte, south of the Wall to await the signal of Mance Rayder to attack the Night's Watch.

Fourth season

After joining up with a clan of the cannibalistic Thenns, Tormund leads the Wildlings in a rampage through the lands south of the Wall, including a sack of Mole's Town. During the Battle of Castle Black, he duels and severely wounds Ser Alliser Thorne, but is brought down by several arrows and taken prisoner. After his wounds are healed by Maester Aemon, Jon briefly approaches him, and he tells Jon that Ygritte loved him, citing Ygritte's apparent desire to kill him as proof. He asks Jon to burn Ygritte north of the Wall.

Fifth season

Tormund is later present at Mance's execution, and is visibly saddened at his friend's death. He is eventually freed by Jon, whom he accompanies to Hardhome, where he attempts to convince the local wildlings to join the Night's Watch in the battle against their common enemy. As Hardhome is overrun by wights, Tormund ferociously fights them off and escapes to the boats with Jon. He later passes through the Wall and into the Seven Kingdoms along with the rest of the wildlings.^[8]

Sixth season

After Jon's assassination by Ser Alliser and his mutineers, Tormund and the Wildlings are summoned by Edd Tollett to help capture them. Jon is later resurrected by the red priestess Melisandre, and Tormund tells him that some of the Wildlings believe him to be a god. Several days later, Jon's half-sister (unbeknownst to him to be his cousin) Sansa Stark arrives at the Wall fleeing her abusive husband Ramsay Bolton. Tormund also falls in love with Brienne. After Ramsay sends a letter to Jon threatening to exterminate the Starks and the Wildlings if Sansa is not returned, Tormund accompanies Jon and Sansa in gathering men to fight the Boltons, persuading the Wildlings to fight for Jon in return for his assistance. Tormund later participates in the Battle of Winterfell, killing Lord Smalljon Umber.

TV adaptation

Kristofer Hivju plays the role of Tormund Giantsbane in the television series.

In January 2007, HBO secured the rights to adapt Martin's series for television.^[9] Years later Kristofer Hivju portrayed Tormund Giantsbane in the third season.^[2]

Recognition and awards

The Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju has received positive reviews for his performance as Tormund Giantsbane in the television series. He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014.^[10][11]

References