John Bradley (English actor)

For other people named John Bradley, see John Bradley (disambiguation).

John Bradley West (born 15 September 1988)^[1] is an English actor, best known for his role as Samwell Tarly in the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.^[2]

John Bradley
Bradley at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	John Bradley West (1988-09-15) 15 September 1988 (age 36) Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, England
Alma mater	Loreto College (2007) Manchester Metropolitan University (BA, 2010)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2011–present

Early life

Bradley was born on 15 September 1988.^[1] He grew up as a Catholic in the Wythenshawe district of south Manchester and attended St Paul's Roman Catholic High School.^[3] He has a sister who is 13 years older than he is.^[1]

From 2005 to 2007, he studied law, psychology, English language, and drama and theatre studies at Loreto College in the Hulme area of Manchester.^[4][5] He received a BA in acting at the Manchester School of Theatre, part of Manchester Metropolitan University, graduating in 2010.^[6]

Career

Three months after he graduated from drama school, in his first audition Bradley won the part of Samwell Tarly in the 2011 HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones, whom he would play for all 8 seasons of the show.^[1][7] His character is a friend of Kit Harington's Jon Snow and provides occasional comic relief, especially in season 1.^[8][9] As the series progressed, Bradley's Tarly developed significantly.^[10][11][12] One reviewer called him "a wonderful comedic and cowardly yin to Jon's dour yang".^[13] George R. R. Martin said that the character that Bradley portrays is the character he would be, if he were on the show.^[14]

In 2011, Bradley appeared in the Canal+ drama, Borgia, in the role of Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, the future Pope Leo X.^[1] In 2012, he played the character Tyr Seward in the BBC production of Merlin in series 5, in the episode "A Lesson in Vengeance".^[15] The same year, he appeared on the Channel 4 TV series Shameless in the role of Wesley, Frank Gallagher's boss, in two episodes of series 10.^[15] In 2015, Bradley played the role of Miloš Hrma in the BBC Radio 4 radio play production of Closely Observed Trains.^[16]

In 2018, Bradley appeared as Scooter in the film Patient Zero, with fellow Game of Thrones performer Natalie Dormer.^[17] In 2022, he was one of the leads in the Roland Emmerich disaster film Moonfall and played a supporting role in the romantic comedy Marry Me, starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson.^[18]

Personal life

Bradley is a supporter of Manchester United^[1]

Bradley plays the drums.^[6][19]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Anna Karenina	Austrian Prince	Uncredited
2015	Traders	Vernon Stynes
	Man Up	Andrew	Uncredited
2016	Grimsby	Derrick Fellner/Fan in Pub
	Roger	Roy	Short film
2017	American Satan	Ricky Rollins
2018	Patient Zero	Scooter
2022	Moonfall	Dr. KC Houseman
	Marry Me	Collin Calloway
	The Railway Children Return	Richard Perks

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011–19	Game of Thrones	Samwell Tarly	Main role; 48 episodes Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2011, 2013–15)
2011	Borgia	Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici	5 episodes
2012	Merlin	Tyr Seward	Episode: "A Lesson in Vengeance"
	Shameless	Wesley	2 episodes
2016	The Last Dragonslayer	Gordon (adult)	Television film
2019	Saturday Night Live	Himself	Episode: "Kit Harington/Sara Bareilles"
	Robot Chicken	Gordon Ramsay, Quint, Eric (voice)	Episode: "Boogie Bardstown in: No Need, I Have Coupons"
2020	Urban Myths	Young Les Dawson	6 episodes
2023	North Shore	Max Drummond	Main role
2024	3 Body Problem	Jack Rooney	3 episodes

Audio

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2024	The Mysterious Affair at Styles	Lawrence Cavendish	Audible original[20]

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes
2018	World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth	Apprentice Marten Webb

References

1. "Interview with John Bradley". Winter is Coming. 3 June 2011.
2. Wigler, Josh (17 July 2017). "'Game of Thrones': John Bradley Describes Shooting Premiere's Filthiest Scene". The Hollywood Reporter.
3. "Former Pupils: John Bradley West". Saint Paul's Catholic High School. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
4. "Alumni". Loreto College.
5. "A 'Game of Thrones'". Loreto College. 23 March 2011. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
6. Ashdown, N (2010). "Manchester School of Theatre – Alumni – Graduates 2010 – John Bradley-West". Manchester School of Theatre.
7. Handler, Chelsea; Bradley West, John (23 July 2017). "John Bradley Explains Game of Thrones" (Video interview). Chelsea. Netflix.
8. Hoare, James (13 March 2012). "Game of Thrones Season 2: Samwell Tarly is "going to change"". SciFiNow.
9. Elio (11 March 2011). "Interview with John Bradley". Westeros.org.
10. Wigler, Josh (5 July 2016). "'Game of Thrones': John Bradley on the "Success Story" of Samwell Tarly". The Hollywood Reporter.
11. Collins, Sean T. (19 July 2017). "Game of Thrones' John Bradley on Sam's Morality, Cleaning Bedpans, and Fake Poop". Vulture.
12. Bradley, Bill (15 June 2015). "'Game Of Thrones' Actor John Bradley Calls Shocking Death 'Heartbreaking'". The Huffington Post.
13. Singh, Ti (21 June 2011). "Game of Thrones episode 10 review: Fire And Blood: season finale". Den of Geek.
14. Hall, Matthew T. (28 July 2014). "If George R.R. Martin were in 'Game of Thrones,' this is how he'd die". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
15. "John Bradley Showreel 2016". Shepherd Management. 13 July 2016.
16. "Closely Observed Trains" (Radio play). BBC Radio Salford. 29 August 2015.
17. Bennion, Chris (4 April 2016). "'Game of Thrones' Sam Tarly: 'This is the end for Jon Snow and Sam' - Q&A". The Daily Telegraph.
18. Bianchini, Elisabetta (12 May 2022). "'Game of Thrones' star John Bradley needed rom-com 'Marry Me,' ready for 'House of the Dragon' comparisons". Yahoo! News.
19. Scherzinger, Nicole; Dommet, Joel; Bradley West, John (28 October 2015). "Game of Thrones Star John Bradley Amazing Drumming" (Video). Bring the Noise. Sky 1.
20. Shafer, Ellise (2 October 2024). "Peter Dinklage, Jessica Gunning, Himesh Patel and More to Star in Audible Adaptation of Agatha Christie's 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 3 October 2024.

External links

• John Bradley at IMDb 
• John Bradley on Twitter