Peter Claffey

 ( 1996 Births ) 

He represented the Ireland Under-20s during the 2016 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, appearing in matches against France and England. In 2018, he signed a professional contract with Connacht ahead of the 2018–19 season. However, he found the professional environment isolating and struggled to break into the senior team, ultimately making zero competitive appearances for the province before being released in 2019.

Claffey later admitted that he did not leave the sport due to injury, but because he "didn't have the heart for it" and felt he "wasn't good enough" to compete at the highest level. He briefly played All-Ireland League rugby for Terenure College RFC in Dublin while beginning his transition into the arts.

Claffey made his professional stage debut in 2022 playing Iggy in Tom Murphy's A Whistle in the Dark at the Abbey Theatre. His early television credits included the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters, where he played the minor role of Callum in Series 1 (2022). Unusually, he returned to the show in Series 2 (2024) to play a completely different, recurring character named Joe Walsh, a love interest for Becka Garvey (played by Eve Hewson). From 2022 to 2024, he starred as Cormac Kelly in the BBC Three horror-comedy series Wreck.

In April 2024, it was announced that Claffey had been cast in the lead role of Ser Duncan the Tall in the Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The showrunners sought an actor "over 6-foot-5" who possessed a "gentle demeanor," eventually selecting Claffey over hundreds of candidates. The series premiered in January 2026. Claffey received critical acclaim for his performance, with reviews highlighting his physical presence and on-screen chemistry with co-star Dexter Sol Ansell (who played Egg).