'Game of Thrones': how the stars have changed eight years after its premiere

Game of Thrones, the end of an era

April 14 marks the beginning of the end of an era with the premiere of the last season of Game of Thrones, an HBO series which hit the small screen on April 17, 2011 and turned into one of the most successful and beloved shows of all time.

In honor of the start of the eighth and final season, let’s take a trip down memory lane to remember how this project has drastically changed the lives’ of its stars.

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Sophie Turner is Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones

Although she has been demonstrating her love for acting ever since she joined a theater group when she was little, Sophie Turner's professional debut was at the age of 13 as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones.

After her debut, she delighted her fans with her performance in the films Another Me, and X-Men: Apocalypse. She's soon to be seen on the Big screen again in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, where she plays the protagonist.

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Emilia Clarke gives life to Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones

Before being cast as part of the Game of Thrones crew, Emilia Clarke's career consisted of a couple of projects without major relevance like the Doctors series and the television movie Triassic Attack.

Because of her famed role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, the doors never stopped opening for Emilia, which allowed us to see her in the films Terminator Genisys, Me Before You and Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as in the musical Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Kit Harington is Jon Snow in Game of Thrones 

As was the case with Sophie Turner, Game of Thrones was Kit Harington's television debut, although he already had an interesting experience in theater, starring in plays like War Horse and Posh, put on in his native England.

Thanks to his character in the famous HBO series, he basked in the spotlight and won roles in films including Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, Pompeii, Seventh Son and the dubbing of the children's film How to Train Your Dragon.

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Maisie Williams is Arya Stark on Game of Thrones

Maisie Williams celebrated her 14th birthday as Game of Thrones began. She would henceforth be known to fans as  Arya Stark - role which allowed her to put into practice everything she learned in her performing arts studies.

Along with the HBO series, Maisie has also been in Doctor Who and in movies like iBoy, Departures and she will soon be seen in The New Mutants, in which she will play Wolfsbane.

Isaac Hempstead Wright is Bran Stark in Game of Thrones

One of the most drastic evolutions is that of young actor Isaac Hempstead Wright, who debuted on Game of Thrones at the mere age of 11. He plays Bran Stark.

His performance was so convincing that he was nominated for several awards. This opened other doors for him, like roles in movies and voice acting, such as The Boxtrolls and Family Guy.

Peter Dinklage is Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones

Contrary to many of the other actors Game of Thrones made stars of, Peter Dinklage already had an accomplished career in the world of acting, although his showbiz beginnings began in the world of music with the group Whizzy.

His acting debut was in 1995 with the film Living in Oblivion, then followed by Elf, The Station Agent, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and Penelope, among others. After the first season of Game of Thrones we saw him as Bolivar Trask in X-Men: Days of Future Past and as Eitri in Avengers: Infinity War.

Lena Headey is Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones

Although she already had a fruitful acting career and amazed everyone in her role as Queen Gorgo in 300, it was thanks to her great friend, Peter Dinklage, that Lena Headey was considered to bring Cersei Lannister to life in Game of Thrones.

Peter and Lena worked together on Ultra and Pete Smalls is Dead, both of which were projects that helped them build their friendship. After Game of Thrones Lena returned to her role as Queen Gorgo in 300: Rise of an Empire.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones

Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau took his first steps in acting in his country, but it wasn’t until 2000 that his name became well-known in the United States. First he was in Black Hawk Down and in 2009 he was confirmed to play Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones.

After the series began he was in movies Mama, by Guillermo del Toro, Oblivion, The Other Woman and Gods of Egypt where he had the honor of playing Horus.

John Bradley is Samwell Tarly in Game of Thrones

Another great leap was actor John Bradley, who went from having a small role in the first season of Game of Thrones to becoming one of the pillars of the plot with his role as Samwell Tarly.

At the same time as Game of Thrones, John has had small roles in other series and in some movies like Anna Karenina, but none of them had the same success as his HBO project.

Alfie Allen is Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones

Alfie Allen is another actor who has come to prominence after a minor part in first season of Game of Thrones with his role as Theon Greyjoy. After his debut in the series he went on to star in movies like Pandemic, and The Predator, among others.

The final season will also star actors like Conleth Hill (Varys), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Ian Glein (Jorah Mormont), Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane), who were a part of the project since the beginning.