🦁 House Lannister · Alive
Tyrion Lannister
Also known as: The Imp · Halfman · The Little Lion · Hugor Hill · The Demon Monkey
Titles: Hand of the King · Hand of the Queen · Master of Coin · Lord of Casterly Rock
Portrayed by: Peter Dinklage · Origin: The Westerlands · Seat: Casterly Rock · First appears: S1E1 “Winter Is Coming”
“I drink and I know things.”
Biography
Tyrion was born to Westeros's richest house and treated as its cheapest possession. His mother Joanna died birthing him, and Tywin never forgave the trade; Cersei tormented him from the cradle. He answered the world's cruelty with the only weapons it couldn't take: a razor mind and a bottomless appetite for books, wine, and conversation. 'A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone' — and his stayed sharper than any blade in the realm.
His finest hour came as acting Hand of the King during Stannis's assault on King's Landing. While Joffrey hid, Tyrion devised the wildfire trap that incinerated the Baratheon fleet and personally led the sortie out the Mud Gate — taking a sword across the face for a city that would never thank him. The realm repaid him with a poisoned chalice: framed for Joffrey's murder at the Purple Wedding, betrayed at trial by Shae, the woman he loved, he demanded trial by combat and watched the Mountain crush Oberyn Martell's skull. The night before his execution, Jaime freed him — and Tyrion detoured through the Tower of the Hand to strangle Shae in his father's bed and put two crossbow bolts through Tywin on the privy.
Smuggled across the Narrow Sea in a crate, he drank and quipped his way to Meereen and offered Daenerys the one thing she lacked: a Lannister's understanding of Westerosi power. As Hand of the Queen he engineered her alliance with Dorne, Highgarden, and the Greyjoy fleet — and then watched every clever plan fail and his queen burn a surrendered city. His last great act was treason in the name of mercy: convincing Jon Snow that love is the death of duty. He ended the series as he began it — the smartest man in the room, Hand to a king nobody chose, quietly rebuilding the world that despised him.
Attributes & statistics
Editorial scores (0–100) and metadata — our own estimates for comparison, not official canon.
| Combat | 25 |
|---|---|
| Intellect | 98 |
| Loyalty | 80 |
| Influence | 90 |
| Survivability | 88 |
| Moral compass | 74 |
Screen time: 482 min across 67 episodes · Named on-screen kills: 4 · Lore milestones: 12 · Debut: S1E1 (2011)
Timeline
- S1E6 — Trial by Combat at the Eyrie: Bronn fights for him; he buys his life with wit and gold.
- ⭐ S2E9 — Battle of the Blackwater: His wildfire gambit saves King's Landing from Stannis.
- ⭐ S4E6 — 'I demand a trial by combat': His courtroom fury at the realm that always hated him.
- ⭐ S4E10 — Kills Tywin and Shae: Escapes execution and murders his father before fleeing to Essos.
- S6E2 — Unchains the Dragons: Walks alone into the catacombs of Meereen and frees Rhaegal and Viserion.
- ⭐ S8E6 — Hand of King Bran: Chooses the new king and serves the realm he saved twice.
Key relationships
- killed-by Tywin Lannister — Killed his father with a crossbow — patricide on the privy
- rival Cersei Lannister — A lifetime of mutual loathing between siblings
- family Jaime Lannister — The only Lannister who ever loved him
- sworn-to Daenerys Targaryen — Hand of the Queen until conscience demanded otherwise
- spouse Sansa Stark — Forced marriage, never consummated; mutual respect endured
Trivia
- Peter Dinklage is the most Emmy-awarded actor of the series (4 wins for the role).
- Tyrion appears in more episodes (67) than any other character.
- He is one of the very few people to have slapped Joffrey — three times in one scene.
- His wildfire plan at Blackwater is the largest single-event kill count by a non-dragon character.
- He never learned Jon Snow's true parentage until Bran told the lords at the Dragonpit council.