'Game of Thrones' actor Peter Vaughan dies at 93

Veteran British actor Peter Vaughan, best known for his roles as Maester Aemon on Game of Thrones and British comedy Porridge, has died at the age of 93, according to his agent.

In a statement released this morning (UK time), Vaughan's agent said, "This is to confirm that very sadly Peter Vaughan passed away at approximately 10:30 this morning. He died peacefully with his family around him."

Vaughan's extensive career spanned seven decades and included numerous roles in British television productions but also extended to feature films like horror classic Village of the Damned, Time Bandits, The Razor's Edge, The Remains of the Day and cult classic Brazil, in which he played the Minister of Information Eugene Helpmann.

He also had a small recurring role on the BBC's popular 1970's sitcom Porridge, in which he played notorious criminal Harry Grout (aka "Grouty"). Though the character only appeared in a handful of episodes, he had a lasting impression.

Speaking to The Sunday Post in the summer of 2016, Vaughan said of the role, “I was in just three episodes and, of course, the feature film, so I have to thank the writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais for the fact I’m one of the characters people always remember when they talk about Porridge because Grouty is so prominent — even though I’m not there."

But most in 2016 knew him as Maester Aemon (also Aemon Targaryen!), the Maester serving the Night's Watch at Castle Black on Game of Thrones.

Aemon's storyline was concluded with his death in Season 5 (2015) after serving as a mentor to both Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly. Though unknown upon the start of the show, it was later revealed that Aemon was a Targaryen, great-uncle to Daenerys, who passed on an opportunity to sit on the Iron Throne, choosing Castle Black instead.

Vaughan clearly had fun playing Aemon, telling the Post of Thrones, “People like the fact no character is ever totally safe — you never know who’s going to have their head chopped off next!"

He elaborated on his own role and experience, saying, “It’s been an absolute privilege to have worked on it for the past five years at my time of life because it’s absolutely first-class."