John Bradley (English actor)


John Bradley West is an English actor, best known for his role as Samwell Tarly in the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.

Early life and education

Bradley was born and grew up as a Catholic in the Wythenshawe district of south Manchester and attended St Paul's Roman Catholic High School. He has a sister who is 13 years older than he is.
In 2005, he began attending Loreto College in the Hulme area of Manchester, where he studied Drama and Theatre Studies. He graduated from Loreto in 2007. He received a BA, Acting at the Manchester School of Theatre, graduating in 2010.

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. His character is a friend of Kit Harington's Jon Snow and provides occasional comic relief, especially in season 1. As the series progressed, Bradley's Tarly developed significantly. One reviewer called him "a wonderful comedic and cowardly yin to Jon's dour yang". George R. R. Martin said that the character that Bradley portrays is the character he would be, if he were on the show.
In 2011, Bradley appeared in the Canal+ drama, Borgia, in the role of Pope Leo X, Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici. In 2012, Bradley played the character Tyr Seward in the BBC production of Merlin in series 5, in the episode "A Lesson in Vengeance." 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. In 2015, Bradley played the role of Miloš Hrma in the BBC Radio Salford radio play production of Closely Observed Trains.
In 2018 Bradley appeared as Scooter in the film Patient Zero, starring alongside Stanley Tucci and fellow Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer

Personal life

Bradley is a Manchester United supporter and plays the drums.
Bradley has been in a relationship with entertainment journalist Rebecca April May since 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games