House of the Dragon is back on our screens for season three (it starts tonight on Sky btw), reuniting us with the chaotic families of the Hightowers and the Targaryens as they battle it out for the Iron Throne. And for the third season we've got a brand new character to get to know as James Norton has joined the cast as Lord Ormund Hightower.
Lord Ormund is introduced in the first episode and is set to play a major role when it comes to the Greens' battle for success. However, we don't exactly get a formal introduction to him and so this is everything you need to know about Lord Ormund Hightower.
Who is Lord Ormund Hightower?
Lord Ormund is the head of the Hightower family and in charge of their battle plans going into the Dance of the Dragons. His father is Hobert Hightower, who was played by Steffan Rhodri during season one of House of The Dragon, and Hobert is the older brother to Alicent's father Otto (who is currently MIA). So this makes him Alicent's first cousin as their fathers are brothers. Hobert is dead by season two and so Ormund takes over as the head of the Hightowers.
He's introduced in episode one of the third season and we get a small glimpse of him when Alicent forges a letter appearing to be from Aemond in which she tells Ormund to stand his army down and wait for Aemond to reach him in three days.
There's not much known about Ormund from the original novels by George R.R. Martin the series is based on, which gave the TV showrunner Ryan Condal more change to develop the character.
Speaking to Games Radar, he compared Ormund to Tywin Lannister, saying of the character: "He's the richest guy who's not sitting on a throne somewhere. Ormund has the largest standing army left in Westeros and a dragon, so he is going to introduce a big old wrinkle into this.
"Ormund is really a sketch in the book and we don't have a sense of who he is, so it was really fun diving in and creating a really deep, complex and three-dimensional character out of him that introduces a new kind of complication into the world."
What happens to Lord Ormund in the books?
Ok, so if you don't mind spoilers, here's what you need to know about the future of Lord Ormund, as it is in the book Fire & Blood, which House of the Dragon is based on.
In Fire & Blood Lord Ormund has three sons and a daughter with his first wife, who goes onto die in childbirth. He later married Samantha Tarly who was just a few years older than his eldest son Lyonel.
He leads the army of the greens during various battles in the Dance of the Dragons, but during the Battle of Honeywine (which we're yet to see) he appears to be losing, until Alicent's son Daeron (who has been training with Ormund) turns up on his dragon and helps win the battle.
Daeron and Ormund continue to work together in battle, leading various charges, however Lord Ormund eventually dies during a battle at Tumbleton.
He's then succeeded by his son Lyonel, who goes onto marry his father's second wife Samantha. Ormund's third son Garmund then ends up marrying Rhaena Targaryen aka Daemon's second daughter, who is played by Phoebe Campbell in the HBO series.
However, it's not clear if the show will follow this storyline exactly.
Who is Ormund actor James Norton?
James Norton, 40, is an actor best known for starring in series such as Happy Valley, Grantchester, War & Peace, and McMafia. He's also starred in movies including Little Women, Joy, and Rogue Agent. He'll also be starring in the upcoming Beatles movies where he'll play Brian Epstein, the band's manager.
House of The Dragon is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW
