🏛️ House Lannister · Deceased

Tywin Lannister

Also known as: The Great Lion · The Old Lion

Titles: Lord of Casterly Rock · Warden of the West · Hand of the King (thrice) · Savior of the City

Portrayed by: Charles Dance · Origin: The Westerlands · Seat: Casterly Rock · First appears: S1E7 “You Win or You Die” · Fate: Shot twice with a crossbow by Tyrion while on the privy

“A lion does not concern himself with the opinions of sheep.”

Biography

Tywin Lannister rebuilt a laughingstock into the most feared name in Westeros. His father Tytos had been a soft lord whom vassals mocked openly; Tywin's answer became a wedding song. When House Reyne of Castamere rose against the Rock, Tywin exterminated them — every man, woman, and child — and 'The Rains of Castamere' was played thereafter so no one would ever need reminding twice. Twenty years as Aerys II's Hand made the realm prosperous and Tywin indispensable, until the Mad King's jealousy and his refusal of Cersei for Prince Rhaegar drove Tywin to resign — and, when the rebellion's outcome was clear, to sack King's Landing under a false banner of friendship and present Robert with the bodies of Rhaegar's children wrapped in Lannister crimson.

The War of the Five Kings was his masterpiece and his blind spot. Introduced skinning a stag — the Baratheon sigil — while dressing down Jaime, he fought Robb Stark to a standstill in the field and then won the war by raven: the Red Wedding was underwritten by Tywin's pen, Walder Frey and Roose Bolton merely the instruments. 'Explain to me why it is more noble to kill ten thousand men in battle than a dozen at dinner.' As Hand to his grandson Joffrey he ruled the Seven Kingdoms in all but name, the only man the boy-king visibly feared.

His empire was annihilated by the son he refused to see. Tywin's lifelong contempt for Tyrion — the dwarf whose birth killed Joanna, the heir he denied Casterly Rock to his face — culminated in sentencing him to death for a murder he knew Tyrion didn't commit. On the night of the escape, Tyrion found Shae in his father's bed and Tywin on the privy, and the great lion died refusing to the last breath to call his son anything but a threat. The Rains of Castamere played over his funeral; within four years, every plan he built had crumbled and the dynasty he murdered thousands to secure was extinct in the male line.

Attributes & statistics

Editorial scores (0–100) and metadata — our own estimates for comparison, not official canon.

Screen time: 156 min across 27 episodes · Named on-screen kills: 9 · Lore milestones: 10 · Debut: S1E7 (2011)

Timeline

• ⭐ PRE — The Rains of Castamere: Exterminates House Reyne; the song becomes a warning.
• S1E7 — Mobilizes the West: Sends Gregor Clegane to ravage the Riverlands.
• S2E7 — Harrenhal: Quarters with an unrecognized Arya Stark as cupbearer.
• ⭐ S3E9 — Author of the Red Wedding: 'The Lannisters send their regards.'
• ⭐ S4E10 — Death on the Privy: Killed by Tyrion with Joffrey's crossbow.

Key relationships

• killed-by Tyrion Lannister — Two crossbow bolts from the son he disowned
• family Cersei Lannister — Used her as a marriage pawn; she craved his respect
• family Jaime Lannister — His chosen heir, who refused the Rock
• enemy Robb Stark — Defeated him by raven, not by sword
• rival Arya Stark — Unknowingly employed her as his cupbearer at Harrenhal

Trivia

• Charles Dance really skinned that stag in his introduction scene — he learned field dressing for it.
• Tywin served as Hand to three kings: Aerys II, Joffrey, and Tommen (briefly, in name).
• He never directly swung a sword on screen despite commanding every major Lannister victory.
• The Red Wedding violated guest right — in-world, the gods themselves are said to curse its breakers.
• George R.R. Martin has called Tywin one of the series' true villains precisely because he is never gratuitously cruel — only efficient.