Kristian Nairn

Kristian Nairn (born 25 November 1975) is an actor and DJ from Lisburn, Northern Ireland. He is best known for his portrayal of Hodor in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2011–2014, 2016).

Career Nairn's portrayal of Hodor on Game of Thrones was his first acting role; Nairn earned enough to buy his mother a house. He is a progressive house/trance DJ, and used to be the resident DJ of Kremlin, a gay club in Belfast. Since Game of Thrones began, Nairn has toured as a DJ with "Rave of Thrones" using musical themes and costumes from the television series. At the end of 2017, he performed the first part of the Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike concerts in Antwerp. He was the DJ during the BlizzCon 2016 anniversary party and BlizzCon 2018 closing festivities. In October 2018, Nairn appeared in a commercial for eToro that was launched on YouTube, featuring the Internet meme Hodl.

Nairn is an accomplished guitarist. He got the opportunity to play backstage with Megadeth during the Hellfest Open Air Festival in Clisson, France, in June 2018.

He portrayed Wee John Feeney on the HBO series Our Flag Means Death from 2022 to 2023.

In August 2025, Nairn was announced as a contestant on the upcoming twenty-third series of Strictly Come Dancing. Later that month, it was announced Nairn had withdrawn from the series due to "unexpected medical reasons".

Personal life In March 2014, Nairn publicly discussed his gay identity in an interview with a Game of Thrones fan site. He stated: "When you talk about 'the gay community,' you are talking about MY community.[...] I've never hidden my sexuality from anyone, my whole life in fact, and I've been waiting for someone to ask about it in an interview." He went on to say that his sexuality is "a very small part of who I am on the whole, but nonetheless, in this day and age, it's important to stand up and be counted." In 2015, Nairn clarified in an interview with Chicago Go Pride that it was really his "second coming out. I'd done it when I was 14 and didn't think I'd have to do it again. Especially since every single person in my life knew."

In April 2023, Nairn revealed to the BBC that he had witnessed the shooting of policeman Darren Bradshaw at the Parliament Bar in Belfast in May 1997.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2014 Our Gay Wedding Himself 2014 Treasure Trapped Himself Documentary 2015 The Four Warriors Baliphar 2016 Mythica: The Godslayer Tek2018 The Appearance Johnny Robin Hood: The Rebellion Thomas 2023 Unwelcome Eoin

Television Year Title RoleNotes 2011–2016 Game of Thrones Hodor Recurring (seasons 1–4, 6), 23 episodesNominated – 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards for Tearjerker 2012–2013 Ripper Street Barnaby Silver 2 episodes 2013 Chronicles of Comic Con Himself 1 episode 2014 The Wil Wheaton Project Himself/Hodor 1 episode2018 The Sidemen Show Himself 1 episode The Rookie Wallace Episode: "The Switch" 2021 The Boulet Brothers' Dragula Himself: Guest Judge 1 episode 2022–2023 Our Flag Means Death Wee John Feeney Main role

Podcast

Accolades Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result 2022 Peabody Awards Entertainment Our Flag Means Death