The world of HBO's Game of Thrones has had many diverse characters over its course, each with their own aspirations and loyalties. One lesser-known character is Grenn, who serves as a ranger for the Night's Watch. A good friend of Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly, Grenn has been involved with the Watch in major events of the series like the Wildling's sacking of Mole Town and quelling the Mutiny at Craster's Keep.
He finally dies in an encounter with a giant along with a few other brothers of the Night's Watch in Season 4. His death is one scene which die-hard fans would still remember, the one in which he narrates the oath of the Night's Watch as he bravely sacrifices himself with honor. Here are 10 facts about the character that you might not know.
10 Gendry's Actor Had Auditioned For Grenn
After a starring role in British teen drama Skins (which also featured Game of Thrones alum Hannah Murray), Joe Dempsie gained his bit of stardom by playing Gendry on the show. A squire, a swordsmith, and the bastard son of Robert Baratheon, Gendry went on from being a guest star to a permanent cast member as his character developed a romantic angle with fan-favorite Arya Stark.
But before getting this role, Dempsie had also auditioned for the role of Grenn. Not only that, but he had also tried his hand at getting the role of Jon Snow and Pypar, the steward of the Night's Watch.
9 Grenn Survived In The Books
Contrary to the ending that he got in the show, Grenn actually survives during the Battle of Castle Black in the books. In fact, it is the castle's one-armed blacksmith Dolan Noye and four others who die slaying the giant called Mag the Mighty.
George RR Martin, however, has still not finished writing the entire series even if the show has ended. And considering how many of his characters die sudden deaths, it wouldn't be surprising if Grenn dies randomly.
8 He Loved A Different Violet
Grenn talks about his life before joining the Watch in the second season. He recounts a romantic relationship that he had shared with a farmer's daughter called Violet. A lot of fans began joining the dots, thinking this is the same Violet who serves the barbaric Ramsay Bolton. Violet seduces Theon Greyjoy, eventually trapping him as Ramsay arrives to castrate him.
As fan theories began to circulate, the showrunners confirmed that Grenn's love interest was a different girl altogether instead of the girl tied to the House of Bolton.
7 He's A Non-Believer
Gods and mystic forces exist in Westerosi traditions. Some, like Stannis Baratheon (who killed his own daughter) are willing to do anything for faith's sake. But others, like Samwell, believe in science or practical aspects of reality rather than any gods.
In his last appearance in the show, Grenn holds the gate along with his other 'brothers' against Mance Ryder's forces. Facing deadly giants on their way, Cooper gets scared and starts praying in desperation. It is at that point when Grenn shouts, 'Gods aren't down here. It's the six of us, you hear me!?'.
6 Grenn's Actor Played King Arthur
British actor Mark Stanley got a more royal treatment after Game of Thrones when he played King Arthur in the 2019 film Hellboy. He plays the legendary ruler of Camelot who appears in old English legends as well as Dark Horse's Hellboy comics series.
Additionally, Stanley has also had a small role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, playing one of the Knights of Ren, a group of Kylo Ren's mysterious and lethal servants.
5 Abandoned At Birth
In the episode 'Lord Snow' from the first season, we hear snippets from Grenn's past. It is revealed that his father left him outside a farmhouse when he was only three years old, abandoning him for life.
It is on this farm that he grows up, and befriends the farmer's daughter Violet with whom he has a romantic relationship later on. While Grenn had always been strong and tough due to his experiences, he was dim-witted.
4 He Is Named After A Bull
A more detailed character sketch on Grenn is provided in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels. George RR Martin describes Grenn as a tall, well-built young man. He is strong with a large size but has slow speed while fighting and sparring with others. Hence, he's nicknamed as the 'Aurochs' by other brothers of the Night's Watch.
For those unacquainted with European wildlife, aurochs were a species of large wild cattle that went extinct way back in the 17th century.
3 Grenn Has The Characteristics Of Another Book Character
In the novels, much like the show, Grenn, Samwell Tarly, Pypar, and Jon Snow join the Night's Watch at the same time and are trained by Ser Alliser Thorne. But along with them is another friend called Halder. Halder is also described as a large man who engages in sparring with them.
While Halder is not present in the show, many of Halder's characteristics and plot functions are instead added to Grenn, to add more depth and detail in his character.
2 He's Assigned To Eastwatch-by-the-Sea
In the fifth novel, A Dance With Dragons, Jon Snow assigns Grenn to serve at a post in Eastwatch-by-the-Sea (known as just Eastwatch in the show). It's an icy castle and the main resupply post for the Night's Watch which receives ships from various places like King's Landing and Ibben.
It is Eastwatch where Stannis Baratheon's forces land as they prepare to save the Night's Watch in the Battle of Castle Black. As unlike the show, Grenn survives this battle, he gets to oversee its rule.
1 Grenn Was Destined To Have A Glorious Death
As mentioned before, fans still remember Grenn for his honor-filled death. Back in 2013, actor Mark Stanley had an interview with US-based entertainment website Flicks and The City where he described how he would want his death to be if in case his character had to die.
'It would have to be riding in the battle with a double-edged ax in one hand, and a scream of glory in my throat riding into an army of wildlings or something like that.' He describes his hopes on his death scene. And a season later, this is what happened as he gloriously says the Night Watch's Oath and dies in the hands of a giant allied to the Wildlings. Grenn, may his soul rest in peace...
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