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James Cosmo is well known for his role as Jeor Mormont in the popular fantasy series Games of Thrones. The actor will also star in tonight’s episode of The Chase Celebrity Special and fans are keen to know more about his role on the HBO fantasy epic. Express.co.uk has everything you need to know about why James Cosmo left Game of Throne.
Why did James Cosmo leave Game of Thrones?
James Copeland, known in the acting world as James Cosmo, is a Scottish actor who is recognised for his film roles in Highlander, Trainspotting and Wonder Woman.
The actor has taken part in plenty of TV series including Game of Thrones and His Dark Materials, and he even starred in the 19th series of Celebrity Big Brother.
His role in Game of Thrones was as Jeor Mormont, the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.
Cosmo starred in the series for three years, between 2011 and 2013, and he was in a total of 12 episodes.
His character Mormont wanted to investigate rumours about White Walkers being spotted, and he led an expedition beyond the Wall.
However, in the books on which the series was based, he was killed during a conflict at Craster’s Keep.
In the series, he makes it through to season three, but Rast (played by Luke Barnes) stabbed him in the back with a knife and his wound proved to be fatal.
Cosmo, who is now 72, saw his character mentioned in passing up until season eight as his legacy lived on.
As the series stayed true to the books for the most part, Cosmo had to leave the series as his character was killed off during the mutiny.
Despite him having to leave the series, he was quick to defend it when fans commented about the controversial ending.
In an interview with Express.co.uk, he said: “I think any ending was going to get backlash because everyone’s in different positions.
“If your idea didn’t get through then you’d feel disappointed. There were a lot of people who were really pleased.”
He said there was “only one ending” that could have happened, but he went on to admit he had only watched two episodes.
Since leaving Game of Thrones he went on to star in Shetland, The Durrells, The Name of the Rose and His Dark Materials.
He has also taken on a number of new film roles including Shadow Boxer and The Hole in the Ground.
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The father-of-two is married to Annie Harris, and he will be starring on tonight’s episode of The Chase on ITV.
His fellow contestants include Coronation Street star Jimi Mistry (Khalid Nazir), former Emmerdale actress Gemma Atkinson (Carly Hope), and Loose Women’s Nadia Sawalha.
Fans will be keen to find out how well the veteran actor performs when under pressure against the dreaded Chasers.
Cosmo’s last memory of Game of Thrones was his character’s murder in 2013.
He said: “I always find it difficult to watch things I’ve been in. When I do, I sit there and find it a profound disappointment.
“I’m never happy with my peformances, but it’s nice to hear so many people still really enjoy Game Of Thrones.”
His character was one of the most famous in both the books and the TV series, and he called the series “groundbreaking”.
The actor said it was a very special opportunity for him to be a part of the series from the first season.
In the series, his character was nicknamed The Old Bear and he considers Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to be a surrogate son.
He ends up giving Jon his ancestral sword called Longclaw, and he had faith in Jon as a leader.
The Chase airs on ITV at 5.20pm.
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