Fans of Game of Thrones have mixed emotions about snarky Bronn, played by Jerome Flynn.
The dashing and randy sellsword may not be blood relations to any of the major families of Westeros, but in the fiery The Spoils of War episode he brazenly used Qyburn’s dragon-killing scorpion bow in a bid to save Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and collect on his promised castle and riches.
Ser Bronn of the Blackwater may now also be getting hate mail after trying to kill Daenerys’ Dracarys dragon.
However, the affable, witty and upwardly mobile bad boy of Game of Thrones is still a favorite character despite all of that.
In the episode Eastwatch we learned Bronn had plucked Jaime from a fiery death by pushing him into a lake.
After all, Lannisters (alive ones) always pay their debts.
Ruggedly dashing actor Flynn also portrayed DI Bennet Drake on the recently wrapped Ripper Street on BBC America.
But do you know his fascinating backstory?
Born in the English town of Bromley, Kent, Flynn is a rarified cat with impressive lineage and a fluid career trajectory.
He also is a philanthropic soul who supports the charity Global White Lion Protection Trust after a trip to Africa inspired him to act.
Flynn counts English Kings Edward I, II and III plus Protestant leader Oliver Cromwell as distant relations on his maternal family tree, discovered on UK TV series, ‘So You Think You Are Royal?’
His late father Eric Flynn was a superstar theatre actor as well and enjoyed a great deal of success. Sadly he passed away at age 62 in 2002.
Jerome Flynn’s acting career began in 1986 when he was cast as Kenny ‘Rambo’ Baines in London’s Burning, a 1986 TV film.
He then earned a healthy dose of fame after he starred in the 1991 hit British television series Soldier Soldier with actor Robson Green.
But did you know that Flynn took an eight-year hiatus on a spiritual quest with an American spiritual guru Andrew Cohen at the height of his early career?
Lucky for us he snapped out of it eventually, but he left behind a legacy of pop song hits with his Soldier Soldier co-star Robson Green prior to this lengthy meditative break.
He and Green had a number one hit with their rendition of Unchained Melody. In the band Robson And Jerome, he laid down many blue-eyed soulful hits in the early to mid 90s.
After Flynn had amassed fame and fortune, he retracted from the limelight and bought a quiet farm in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and produced a low-budget film, Rude Tales.
Like many actors, he does a fair amount of voice-over work and is in the UK children’s TV series Tommy Zoom as the hound called Daniel ‘Danny’ Zoom. Flynn also does adult narration for meditation applications.
Hopefully, in a future episode of Game of Thrones, Bronn’s pragmatic nature will prevail as he convinces Jaime Lannister to work with Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and escape the evil plans and wrath of Queen Cersei (Lena Headey), who knows of Bronn’s intentions and loyalties to her brothers.
Which is kind of ironic, as Headey was rumored to have had a falling out a few years back with Flynn in a set romance gone south.
The two had previously worked together in Soldier Soldier in the early 1990s.
The next episode of Game of Thrones looks action-heavy North of the Wall:
Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.