15 Greatest HBO Characters Of All Time

Everybody loves Game Of Thrones, but some characters can seem predictable to the point of being dull, Sam's always going to be incompetent and boring; Jon Snow's always going to be sulky and tedious; Daenerys is always going to shriek about her dragons. Throughout all this, however, the Hound remains the show's one true wild card.

Entering the fray as Joffrey's vicious enforcer, the Hound has slowly developed, if not a soft side, then a personality beyond a desire to cut throats and eat chicken. His fourth season arc with erstwhile mortal foe Arya Stark was outright moving at times, and the brief scenes actor Rory McCann shared with Ian McShane were among the last set of episodes' most enjoyable.

Now teamed up with Beric Dondarrion and co, the possibilities for the Hound going forward are genuinely exciting. Whether he's on a Jaime Lannister-esque redemptive journey, or simply has designs on cracking every Westeros skull he can get his hands on, the lumbering brute is never dull, which is a whole lot more than you can say for Bran Stark.