who plays the queen's brother in game of thrones
List of Game of Thrones characters Jaime Lannister (season 1â€“present) portrayed by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Ser Jaime Lannister of House Lannister is a member of the Kingsguard and an exceptionally skilled swordsman. He is the Queen's twin brother and has carried on an incestuous love affair with her all his life, fathering all three of her living children. He truly does love his sister and will do anything, no matter how rash, to stay close to her. He is nicknamed "Kingslayer" for killing the previous King, Aerys II, whom he was sworn to protect. He was allowed to keep his post in the current Kingsguard as he and his influential father helped Robert win the war, but no one feels he deserves this post, which frustrates Jaime. Despite Eddard Stark's animosity against him for forsaking his oath to protect the King during Robert's Rebellion, Jaime has great respect for Eddard, whom he considers a great warrior and his equal. Unlike his father and sister, Jaime cares deeply about his younger brother Tyrion. In Season 2, Catelyn releases and sends Jaime to King's Landing under Brienne of Tarth's watch in exchange for a pledge to send her daughters home. On the journey, they are captured by the violent Locke, a man-at-arms under Roose Bolton, a Northern Lord. On their way to Harrenhal, now held by Bolton, the lowborn Locke cuts off Jaime's sword hand to taunt his position and privilege. Jaime survives and is allowed to depart Harrenhal on condition that he acquits Bolton from any guilt. During his time in Harrenhal, Jaime reveals to Brienne on why he killed King Aerys II. Once freed, Jaime travels to King's Landing with Brienne and disgraced Maester Qyburn, given by Bolton to tend to his injury, in tow. At the end of Season 3, they arrive at the gates and Jaime reunites with Cersei. In season 4, Jaime is fitted with a golden prosthetic hand and given a new sword, and is trained by Bronn in fencing with his left hand. Jaime is one of the few people in King's Landing who believe in Tyrion's innocence in killing Joffrey, and does his best to comfort his younger brother, while outright refusing Cersei's order to kill Tyrion before his trial. When Tyrion is sentenced to death, Jaime frees Tyrion from captivity and arranges for him to be smuggled to Essos with Varys's help. Jaime tells Cersei that he will travel to Dorne and bring Myrcella back. Myrcella says that she likes it in Dorne and doesn't want to go back to King's Landing. However, she eventually leaves with her uncle and Trystane, after Doran bargains to have his son take his seat on the Small Council. On the journey home, Jaime reveals his incestuous relationship to Cersei to their daughter, who then reveals she knows and is glad that Jaime is her father and hugs him, but moments later Myrcella collapses from poison and dies. In season 6, Jaime returns to King's Landing with Myrcella's body and sends Doran a letter requesting the heads of Ellaria, Obara, Nymeria and Tyene, but later hears that both Doran and Trystane were killed by the Sands. In response to Cersei's humiliation by the Faith Militant, Jaime ponders murdering the High Sparrow and marching on the Great Sept of Baelor with the army of House Tyrell to forcibly rescue Margaery from custody. He is foiled, however, when Tommen declares an allegiance between the Faith and the Crown, and dismisses Jaime from the Kingsguard, clearly on the High Sparrow's orders. Jaime is later sent to the Riverlands with Bronn to oversee the surrender of Riverrun. He parleys with Brynden "The Blackfish" Tully, to no avail, and then falsely threatens Edmure Tully with the murder of his baby son if he does not get his men to surrender the castle. The castle eventually falls to the Lannisters and Freys. Jaime briefly crosses paths with Brienne and Podrick, but allows them to leave peacefully. He returns to King's Landing shortly after the Great Sept's destruction, and enters the Red Keep to see Cersei being crowned Queen. In Season 7 he commands the Lannister army, capturing Highgarden but suffering defeat when ambushed by Daenerys' Dothraki forces and dragons. He clashes with Cersei over the threat from the Army of the Dead, and when she breaks her word over sending military support he leaves her and rides north alone.