Conleth Hill Explained

Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an 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).^[1]

Early life

Conleth Hill was born in Ballycastle in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.^[2] 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.^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

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.^[9]

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.^[10] 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,^[11] 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.^[12] He appeared in Series 2 episode 2 of Peter Kay's Car Share as Elsie, the drunk deli counter supervisor dressed as Smurfette.^[13] He also appeared as Carlos Santini in Season 3, Episode 4 of Derry Girls.^[14]

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)
		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
		Professor Aaron Östergaard
2023	Tell Me a Creepy Story	Da Taggart	(Segment: The Good Word)
2026			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	[15]
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 (11 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 Power of Parker	Martin Parker	Series 1; Episodes 1–6[16]
	The Lovers	Philip	Episodes 1 & 6
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 1–6[17]

Audio books

Year	Book	Character	Publisher
2008	Tamburlaine: Shadow of God by John Fletcher	Hafez	BBC Worldwide Ltd.	[18]
2009	Zurich (The Wire) by Pearse Elliott	Narrator		[19]

Radio

Date	Title	Role	Author	Director	Station
–	'				BBC Radio 4-->
	The Man Who Came to Dinner		Moss Hart and George S Kaufman adapted for radio by Marcy Kahan	Ned Chaillet	BBC Radio 4
	Tricycles		Colin Teevan	Toby Swift	BBC Radio 3 The Wire
	The Travels of Marco Polo		Philip Palmer	Toby Swift	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
	Ciaran Hinds#Titanic letters	Titanic letters[20]	Reader, ep.33		Ciaran Hinds
	Eoin O'Callaghan#The Biggest Issues	The Biggest Issues[21]	Jerry Cartwright	Annie McCartney	Eoin O'Callaghan	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Drama
2017	Big Country[22] [23]	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)^{[24] [25] [26]}
• The Adventures of a Bear Called Paddington, Various Roles, the Arts Theatre, Ardhowen Theatre, Belfast; Riverside Theatre, Coleraine (1986)^{[27] [28]}
• West Side Story, as Bernardo - Leader of the Sharks, Ulster Youth Theatre (1986)^[29]
• Broken Nails by Damian Gorman, as Joe, St Peter's Cathedral in West Belfast (1988)^{[30] [31]}
• Orlando, Guildhall School of Music and Drama (1988)^[32]
• Girl Crazy, Guildhall School of Music & Drama (1989)^[9]
• Little Shop of Horrors, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1989)^[33]
• The School for Wives as Horace, The John Player Theatre, The Arts Theatre (Belfast) (1989)^[34]
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, as Dorian, Arts Theatre (Belfast) (1989)^[35]
• Too Late To Talk To Billy as John Fletcher, Arts Theatre, 1990^[31]
• Oliver Twist as Artful Dodger / Mr.Limbkins etc. Lyric Theatre (1990)^[36]
• Over the bridge by Sam Thompson as Ephraim Smart, Lyric Theatre (1990)^{[37] [38]}
• Playboy of the Western World as Shawn Keogh, Lyric Theatre (1990)^[39]
• The Iceman Cometh as Willie Oban, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1990)^[40]
• The Importance of Being Earnest as Algernon, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1990)^[41]
• Leave him to heaven, The Arts Theatre (Belfast) (1991)^[42]
• Government inspector Playwright Marie Jones Adapted Nikolai Gogol, as Headmaster, The Rock Theatre (1993)^[43]
• Christmas Eve Can Kill You, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1994)
• Playboy of the Western World as Christy Mahon, Redgrave Theatre, Farnham (1994)^[44]
• Tall Tales for Small People (Tall Tales For Cold, Dark Nights), Communicado (Scotland) (1995)^[45]
• Eddie Bottom's dream by Marie Jones, as Puck, Lyric Theatre (Belfast)^[46]
• 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)^{[47] [48]}
• A Midsummer Night's Dream as Nick Bottom, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1997)
• Playboy of the Western World as Christy Mahon, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) (1997)^[49]
• Shining Souls, Old Vic (London) (1997)^{[50] [51]}
• The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman, as Semyon Podsekalnikov, Communicado (Scotland) (1997)^[52]
• Juno and the Paycock as Joxer Daly, Royal Lyceum (Edinburgh) (1998)^[53]
• Northern Star by Stewart Parker, as Henry Joy McCraken, Field Day/Tinderbox (1998)^[54]
• Christmas Carol, Communicado (Scotland) (1998)^[55]
• 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)^{[56] [57] [58]}
• 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)^[59]
• 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)^{[60] [61] [62] [63]}
• 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)^[64]
• SPUD, Lyric Theatre (Belfast) Director (2019)
• The Antipodes, as Sandy, National Theatre, London (2019)^[65]

Awards and nominations

• 2000 Irish Times award, for Stones in His Pockets^[66]
• 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^[67]
• 2001 Whatsonstage award, Best Actor for Stones in His Pockets^[68]
• 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^[69]
• 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Carice van Houten heads back to Westeros, and new photos from Lokrum and Moneyglass. Watchers on the Wall. 19 August 2014. 4 October 2014.
2. Web site: 20 Questions With…Conleth Hill. Editorial Staff. 10 January 2005. whatsonstage. 27 February 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150111062031/http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/01-2005/20-questions-withconleth-hill_24475.html. 11 January 2015.
3. News: Ronan Hill wins his third Emmy award for work on Game of Thrones . The Irish News. 28 August 2017.
4. Web site: Interview: Ronan Hill, Game of Thrones production sound mixer. audiomediainternational.com. 26 February 2017. 12 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170812100353/http://www.audiomediainternational.com/interview/interview-ronan-hill-game-of-thrones-production-sound-mixer/05018. dead.
5. Web site: Ronan Hill . emmys.com. Television Academy. 26 February 2017.
6. News: Emmy Award success for local Game of Thrones sound crew . bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 26 February 2017.
7. Web site: Third consecutive CAS Award for Game of Thrones Sound Mixer Ronan Hill . iftn.ie. The Irish Film & Television Network. 26 February 2017.
8. Web site: Ronan Hill wins fourth consecutive Cinema Audio Society award. northernirelandscreen.co.uk. 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170227062349/https://northernirelandscreen.co.uk/news/14317/ronan-hill-wins-fourth-consecutive-cinema-audio-society-award.aspx. 27 February 2017. dead.
9. Web site: PLAY magazine Autumn-Winter 2017.
10. News: Billy Budd sails to six Dora wins. 28 August 2017. The Globe and Mail.
11. Book: Buckland, Damien. Collection Editions: A Game of Thrones: An Inside Guide to the Hit Show. 9781326097912. 25 November 2014. Lulu.com .
12. Web site: Not A Blog – Tuf Returns. livejournal.com. 27 February 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150318072834/http://grrm.livejournal.com/311788.html . 18 March 2015.
13. News: Conleth Hill plays drunk Smurf in Peter Kay's Car Share. Daily Express. 6 February 2020. 6 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200206194110/https://www.express.co.uk/videos/5403208538001/Conleth-Hill-plays-drunk-Smurf-in-Peter-Kay-s-Car-Share. dead.
14. News: Derry Girls: Season 3, Episode 4 - Rotten Tomatoes .
15. Web site: Lit By Love and Sunshine - View media - Northern Ireland Screen | Digital Film Archive. digitalfilmarchive.net.
16. Web site: The Power of Parker comes to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Friday 28 July. bbc.co.uk. 24 July 2023.
17. Web site: Lesley Manville Is Back on the Case in First 'Moonflower Murders' Images. Ryan. O'Rourke. 14 December 2023. Collider. 25 May 2024.
18. Web site: Amazon.com: Tamburlaine: Shadow of God (BBC Radio 3: Drama on 3) (Audible Audio Edition): John Fletcher, Jeffery Kissoon, John Rowe, Conleth Hill, BBC Worldwide Ltd: Books. amazon.com.
19. Web site: Amazon.com: Zurich (The Wire) (Audible Audio Edition): Pearse Elliott, Conleth Hill, BBC Worldwide Ltd: Audible Books & Originals. amazon.com.
20. Web site: BBC Radio 4 – Afternoon Drama, The Biggest Issues. BBC. 27 February 2015.
21. Web site: Program Information BBC Radio Ulster. BBC.
22. Web site: BBC Radio Ulster. BBC.
23. Web site: Big Country Season 1. Radio Times.
24. Web site: Part of the Six Pack, program. Digital Theatre Archive.
25. Web site: Fools' bar, programme. Digital Theatre Archive.
26. Web site: Incredible adventure of doctor Faustus, programme. Digital Theatre Archive.
27. according to the memoirs of mr.Richard Orr
28. Web site: Interview with Game of Thrones actor Conleth Hill. Al. Senter. The Stage. 10 March 2017.
29. Sunday Life, 3 December 1989
30. Sunday Tribune. 24–25 December 1988
31. Web site: The Importance of Being Earnest, Theatre programme. 19. Digital Theatre Archive.
32. Web site: Theatre Programm. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B9wEecVqMc3 . 26 December 2021 . registration.
33. Web site: Little Shop of Horrors, Theatre programme. Digital Theatre Archive.
34. The Stage. 26 October 1989
35. The Stage, 16 February 1989
36. Web site: Oliver Twist, Theatre programme. Digital Theatre Archive.
37. Web site: Over the bridge, Theatre programme. Digital Theatre Archive.
38. The Stage, 15 November 1990
39. Web site: The Playboy of the Western World, Theatre programme. Digital Theatre Archive.
40. Web site: Roland Jaquarello. rolandjaquarello.com.
41. Web site: History of The Lyric Theatre, Belfast. history.lyrictheatre.co.uk.
42. Sunday Life, 31 Marсh 1991
43. Web site: irishplayography.com.
44. The Stage, 29 September 1994
45. Web site: Tall Tales for Small People / 1995. Communicado Theatre. 15 January 2016.
46. Web site: irishplayography.com.
47. Sunday Tribune. 8 December 1996
48. Web site: troikatalent.com.
49. The Stage, 6 February 1997
50. Web site: Souls" Theatre programme.
51. The Stage, 6 November 1997
52. Web site: The List: 15 August 1997. 15 August 1997. The List Archive.
53. Web site: The List: 20 February 1998. 20 February 1998. The List Archive.
54. Sunday Tribune 22 November 1998
55. Web site: Conleth Hill. National Theatre.
56. Sunday Tribune 7 November 1999
57. News: Godot without a pause. https://web.archive.org/web/20160226193849/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4718899/Godot-without-a-pause.html. dead. 26 February 2016. 4 November 1999. www.telegraph.co.uk.
58. News: 'Stones' stars Conleth Hill, Seán Campion recall classic duos. 16 February 2011. The Irish Echo.
59. Web site: irishplayography.com.
60. News: Catch STARS - A Ballycastle Nativity live on stage. 16 September 2009. Ballymoney and Moyle Times. 18 February 2020. 18 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200218072624/https://www.ballymoneytimes.co.uk/news/catch-stars-a-ballycastle-nativity-live-on-stage-1-1832302. dead.
61. News: It's Curtain up for Christmas. Belfasttelegraph. 13 November 2009. Belfast Telegraph Digital.
62. Web site: Cross and Passion College. December 2009.
63. Web site: gotlottery.uk. 7 October 2009.
64. Web site: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? Buy Direct from The Theatre. atgtickets.com. 28 August 2017.
65. Web site: The Antipodes | National Theatre. nationaltheatre.org.uk. 4 June 2019.
66. Sunday Life 20 February 2000
67. Web site: PHOTO CALL: Show Us Your Outer Critics Plaque II: Viola Davis, Stones in His Pockets. Playbill.
68. Web site: Whatsonstage Awards 2001 | WestEndTheatre.com. 1 January 2009. westendtheatre.com.
69. 2008 Tony Award Nominations. The New York Times, 13 May 2008.