Neil Fingleton, the British actor who played Mag the Mighty in Game of Thrones, died at the age of 36 Saturday evening of heart failure, according to the Guardian. Fingleton was best known for his role in Game of Thrones, but also appeared in X-Men: First Class and Jupiter Ascending.
Not only was Fingleton beloved for his screen roles, but was very well known for his exceptional height. At 7 feet 7 inches tall, Fingleton was once the tallest man in Britain, the Guardian reports. After hearing reports of his passing, The Tall Person’s Organisation, a group of tall people in Britain, posted a message about Fingleton on its Facebook page.
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“Sadly it has come to our attention that Neil Fingleton Britain's Tallest man passed away on Saturday. Neil became Britain's Tallest man in 2007 passing the height of Chris Greener. Neil started off in basketball in the USA before becoming an actor and starring in the X-Men First Class and also recently in the Game of Thrones.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family.”
In his 2008 Guinness Book of World Records entry, Fingleton wrote of his height, “I have never been self-conscious about my height. I am more conscious of going bald so that should tell you. I never let my height play a negative part in my life.”
As The Tall Person’s organisation wrote, Fingleton started out as a high school and college basketball player before becoming an actor. He received a scholarship and played at the University of North Carolina, and later played for College of the Holy Cross. Fingleton was drafted into the NBA and later into a British league but suffered a career-ending injury in 2007.
Fingleton’s first feature movie appearance was in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, where he played a bodyguard.
Just two months ago another member of the Game of Thrones cast, Peter Vaughn, who played Maester Aemon, passed away at the age of 83.