Entertainment

Sorry, But Ramsay From ‘Game Of Thrones’ Is Hot IRL

by Jordan Lauf
Helen Sloan/HBO

If you've ever watched Game of Thrones, you know that Ramsay Bolton was pretty much the worst character ever. He was a completely sadistic maniac who enjoyed torturing and abusing his victims, like Theon and Sansa, had no mercy even for his family members, and really loved making his evil dogs eat people alive. Thankfully, in Season 6 Ramsay got the ending his deserved, when he was defeated at Battle of the Bastards and killed by his own hounds while Sansa bore witness. But, of course, actor Iwan Rheon is not his character — and out of costume Ramsay's pretty hot, to be honest.

Although the actor is now most famous for his role as the evil bastard of House Bolton, Rheon was nearly chosen for a totally different GoT character. Originally, he auditioned to play Jon Snow, and though it's hard to picture anyone but Kit Harrington as the brooding King of the North, seeing pictures of Rheon out of character can help fans understand how he could have played the good guy.

Far from the cold eyes and evil grin of Ramsay, in real life Rehon is a total cutie, with a little scruff and a kind smile. Who knew that it was possible to actually be attracted to, gulp, Ramsay Bolton, perhaps the most hated man ever on television.

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Look at that smile! That happy fellow seems worlds away from the guy who stabbed his own father to death and had his baby brother killed by bloodthirsty hounds.

Despite his good looks, the Welsh actor is used to being cast as the misfit, the outsider, or even the villain. “I’ve been trying to figure out what it is, but it’s so difficult to objectively look at why you get cast as all these strange people,” Rheon said in an interview with The New York Times. “The big eyes, maybe.”

But hey, those big eyes are great... when they aren't aiming an arrow to pierce Rickon Stark's heart, that is.

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So, what's next for Rheon, now that he's no longer Westeros' most notorious villain? The actor is set to star as Maximus in the new Marvel TV show Inhumans, who, though not as straightforwardly evil as Ramsay, might not also be the best superhero on the block. Maybe this role will give him a chance to reveal himself to the world as the cutie he really is in real life.