as Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish
Character Overview: Lord Petyr Baelish, called “Littlefinger,” sits on the king’s council and is a master of court intrigue, with his brilliance matched only by his ambition. He is handsome and meticulously stylish, but also quite short, giving a double entendre to the nickname. Though a lord, his holdings are possibly the smallest in all the Seven Kingdoms, situated on the smallest of the Fingers on the Eastern shore. – Wikipedia
Recent Events: Littlefinger serves as Master of Coin on the small council for the Iron Throne, so he is in constant contact with Ned Stark early in his reign as Hand of the King for Robert Baratheon. Littlefinger arranges for Ned and Catelyn to meet so Catelyn can tell Ned about the assassination attempt on Bran, which she will soon pin on Tyrion when Littlefinger tells her the knife used in the attempt was Tyrion’s. When Ned uncovers the truth behind Joffrey’s parentage, he comes to Littlefinger for aid in putting Stannis Baratheon on the Iron Throne; Littlefinger initially agrees, but betrays Ned, leading to Ned’s imprisonment for treason.
When the Citadel announces the impending long winter, Littlefinger informs the small council of the city’s food shortages; this eventually leads to a riot outside the gates of the city after the royal family see Myrcella off to Dorne. As Stannis spreads word about Cersei and Jaime’s incest, Littlefinger is tasked with finding Arya Stark in order to provide bargaining leverage for Jaime’s life. Littlefinger is one of three men Tyrion fingers as a possible spy for Cersei; he is informed of a plan to marry Myrcella to Robin Arryn in the Vale. (The plan that ultimately sends Myrcella off to Dorne was given to Grand Maester Pycelle.) In exchange for deceiving him, Tyrion sends Littlefinger to Catelyn Stark to negotiate prisoner transfer. Petyr takes Catelyn, his childhood friend, the remains of Ned Stark as a sign of good faith.
Littlefinger spends much of his time south negotiating terms: with Catelyn, a deal for Arya and Sansa in exchange for Jaime (though he lies and says the Lannisters still have Arya in custody); with the Tyrells, to whom he suggests an alliance with Joffrey so that Margaery can still be the queen and Loras can take revenge for Renly’s death; and with Tywin Lannister at Harrenhal, to whom he proposes an alliance between the Lannisters and the Tyrells. This last proposal results in the Lannisters smashing Stannis Baratheon’s forces at the Battle of Blackwater Bay. In return for his service, Littlefinger becomes the Lord of Harrenhal. He leaves the Master of Coin position to former acting Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister, who was injured in the battle.
Petyr then hatches a new scheme to smuggle Sansa out of King’s Landing, wrapped up in a plan to send himself off to Lysa Arryn to marry her. However, Ros, who came to Littlefinger to work in his brothels, has been turned spy for Varys; this begins a series of machinations surrounding the Lannisters, the Tyrells, and Sansa Stark, with Littlefinger tipping off the Lannisters of Varys’s plans and Varys doing the same for Olenna Tyrell. The end result is the marriage of Sansa Stark to Tyrion Lannister, a proposed marriage of Cersei to Loras Tyrell (a plan Cersei abhors), and plans to marry Joffrey to Margaery Tyrell to formally reunite the Seven Kingdoms again. Meanwhile, Petyr deduces that Ros is Varys’s spy and gives her to Joffrey, who brutally murders her. He also confronts Varys about his foiled plots; the two debate their relative philosophies, then Littlefinger departs to make preparations for his trip to the Vale.
After Joffrey’s untimely death, Sansa is smuggled out of the capitol by a knight, Ser Dontos, who is working for Littlefinger. He takes her to Littlefinger’s ship; Littlefinger has the knight killed, then brings Sansa aboard. Onboard, Littlefinger admits to being partially responsible for Joffrey’s death. The two travel to the Vale, where Littlefinger marries Lysa Arryn while Sansa pretends to be his niece, Alayne Stone. After Robin Arryn causes a scene and knocks over Sansa’s snow replica of Winterfell, Littlefinger kisses her in full sight of Lysa; later, when Lysa attempts to confront Sansa about the kiss, Petyr steps in and, in a moment when she is most vulnerable, shoves her out the Moon Door. Soon after, he and Sansa clear themselves of suspicion in Lysa’s death and prepare to tour the Vale.
Actor Bio: Aidan Gillen (born Aidan Murphy) began acting in his native Dublin. When he was 18, he got a bit part in The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, which featured Maggie Smith. A move to London translated into the actor’s racking up significant theatrical credits. Gillen’s first major screen role came in a 1993 gritty urban drama Safe, produced by and aired on the BBC. Aidan’s major breakthrough role was inarguably the sexually prolific Stuart Alan Jones in the 1999 British TV series Queer As Folk. Bringing wry humor and ruthless charisma to a potentially over-the-top role, Gillen earned a reputation as one of Ireland and the U.K.’s most compulsively watchable new performers. He was cast with Patrick Stewart in the Broadway production of Pinter’s The Caretaker, which earned him a 2004 Tony Award Nomination. U.S. acclaim for his talent has also come for his role in HBO’s drama The Wire, where Gillen plays the city council member Tommy Carcetti. In February of 2009, Aidan was awarded an Irish Film and Television Award for his work on the show. – Aidan-Gillen.com
Gillen appeared in the short film Ambition, about the European Space Agency’s Rosetta program, in 2014. In 2015, he’ll be appearing in a number of projects, most notably the second season of HBO’s True Detective and in the second film adaptation of the YA book series The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials. –IMDb
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