Game Of Thrones: 20 Greatest Performances
4. Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau - Jaime Lannister
Prior to the character assassination Jaime suffered through in season eight, he had an amazing redemptive arc and was one of the best-written characters on the show. Danish actor Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau, complete with an impeccable English accent, performed this journey to perfection.
In particular, the scene in season three in which he revealed why he really killed the Mad King Aerys Targaryan is one of the best-acted scenes in all of Game of Thrones. Impressively, even before the reveal of Jaime's backstory in season three, it always seemed like there was a lot more to Jaime due to all the depth in Coaster-Waldau's performance.
He was also an absolute master of facial acting and was able to convey an awful lot just by changing his expressions, which is always the mark of a great performance. As a result, every step on Jaime's journey came through in a hard-hitting and emphatic way. Even though Jaime's character was fatally ruined in season eight, Coaster-Waldau remained a masterful performer to the very end.