How Tall is Peter Claffey, Ser Duncan the Tall, in 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'?

Former pro rugby player Peter Claffey might be a relative newbie to Hollywood, but the Irish actor had a big leg up landing the role of Ser Duncan the Tall in the “Game of Thrones” prequel, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” He's really tall. Claffey, 29, stands at 6-foot-5, which is as close as you could realistically hope for Dunk, the towering, low-status knight from "Thrones" author George R. R. Martin's "Tales of Dunk and Egg" novellas from which the HBO series is adapted. Executive producer Ira Parker put out a worldwide casting call looking for actors "over 6-foot-5 to play Ser Duncan the Tall." Claffey's frame and athletic ability helped get him in the door. His gruff but gentle demeanor nailed the deal. "We were looking for as tall as possible in that age range. The book character is 6-foot-11," says Parker. "After meeting Peter, it really couldn't have been anyone else. We were so lucky that he exists in this world." Here's what to know about Claffey, star of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" starting on HBO Sunday, Jan. 18 (10 ET/PT). Being a newcomer fits Claffey's 'Seven Kingdoms' character The Dunk character in Season 1 is all about an untested man stepping into a knight's role, and not sure if he can play the part or survive in a deadly tournament. Claffey, who has starred in TV series like Apple+'s "Bad Sisters" (playing Eve Hewson's onscreen boyfriend) and Cillian Murphy's movie "Small Things Like These," channeled that pressure within himself stepping into the "Thrones" arena. "I was a huge 'Game of Thrones' fan, so I understand the fan passion," says Claffey. "It's daunting and terrifying to step into this as the main protagonist. So that definitely contributed to my anxiety." Claffey is too big for his horse on 'Seven Kingdoms' Dunk is paired with a cheeky squire, Egg, played by Dexter Sol Ansell, who stands at about 4-foot-8. That's not the only glaring height difference with Dunk. Claffey towers over his horse in the series. "And it's a big horse too," says Parker. The actor says there were bigger horses, but his steed in the early episodes had to pull off tricks. "And he's a ridiculously well-trained horse. The stuff he can do is incredible," says Claffey. Claffey improved his riding after a two-month training camp before shooting began. "I've always wanted to learn to ride properly," he says. "They've turned me into a competent rider." He's even eyeing bigger steeds. "Mine isn't as big as a war horse that would make Dunk look epic," says Claffey. "But it is kind of endearing to look at Dunk being too big for his horse." Rugby didn't prepare Claffey for knight-brawling Growing up in County Galway, Ireland, Claffey was a "Lord of the Rings" and fantasy fan who literally grew into sports and rugby. "Rugby got quite serious early on, it sort of took over my life," says Claffey, who played on the Ireland national under-20 rugby union team. "It sort of became my identity." But he avoided getting locked into bruising rugby mauls with opponents. "I was in the second row, so I was locked in," says Claffey. "My head was glued between two (teammates') arses, being rammed forward by three other (teammates). There wasn't much room for punching opponents in a scrum." Parker says the rugby skills help the character. "The only things Dunk has is size and his ability to just keep getting up after being knocked down," says Parker. "If that's not part of being a rugby player, I don't know what is." Claffey corrects one falsehood: Rugby injury didn't lead to acting Claffey played through injury when representing Ireland in the 2016 Six Nations tournament. "I had really bad concussive injuries and neck problems," he says. "I wouldn't encourage this, but I didn't speak about it. I didn't want to miss the chance to represent my country. And things got worse afterwards." After some time off, he returned to play for pro teams like Connacht Rugby in 2018. "I couldn't compete at the end. My heart was falling out of it," says Claffey. "I was thinking about acting. I didn't leave because of injury; it was because I wasn't good enough." His parents helped pay for drama school in Dublin. "It was hard to figure out a new identity. I took a chance," says Claffey. "I couldn't have made it without my parents' help. Thankfully, it's paid off." The breakthrough parts have followed one after another. Parker says that Claffey is ever evolving, just like Dunk, with Season 2 already filming. "The thing we love about Peter is that every day, he is exponentially better," says Parker.