5 Astonishing Performances By Physically Disabled Actors

2. Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones

Dinklage has received critical acclaim for his portrayals of characters dealing with the realities of dwarfism in the past (see Living in Oblivion and The Station Agent) but it has been the TV series Game of Thrones and the multi-layered, and ultimately sympathetic, Tyrion Lannister that have given Dinklage a platform to show his talent to a global audience.

Anyone who has ever seen the series can attest to there being a lot meat for the actors playing the central figures to get their teeth into, and this is certainly true with Tyrion; he gets some of the best lines in the series (often as comebacks to some comment about his height) and he has some of the most comical scenes. However, there are also scenes that deal honestly with the character's disability and how he copes with the attitudes he is confronted with.

The character has a complicated relationship with his frankly vile family, and is often required to out-scheme everyone around him. However, there's no stereotyping here and, particularly in the second season, of all the characters, the audience is most on-board with Tyrion as he shows that, for all his ingenious plotting, he's one of the few characters who actually has a sense of morality and consequence.

As with all great performances, it's nigh-on impossible to imagine anyone else in the role, and every moment Dinklage is on screen is a joy to watch. This was recognised in an official capacity in 2011 when he won both the Emmy and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for Tyrion.

We're just lucky there's much more to see of Dinklage in the role with the third season of Game of Thrones beginning in the states on the 31st of this month.