Tormund Giantsbane is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.

Introduced in 2000's A Storm of Swords, he is a renowned wildling leader and chief lieutenant of Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-The-Wall.

[2] Although initially antagonistic towards Jon Snow and the Night's Watch, he later proves to be a crucial ally in their fight against the White Walkers.

Tormund Giantsbane is portrayed by Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju in the HBO television adaptation, for which he has received positive reviews.

He is styled Tall-talker, Horn-blower and Breaker of Ice, Husband to Bears, the Mead-king of Ruddy Hall, Speaker to Gods and Father of Hosts.

Although Tormund is said to have slain a giant, he claims to have actually cut open the belly of a sleeping giantess and slept in her for warmth during a winter storm.

Tormund is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted exclusively through the eyes of Jon Snow.

Jon Snow, now Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and other officers expect that Tormund will besiege the undermanned Wall again.

When Cotter Pyke's Eastwatch fleet report back desperate situations at Hardhome, Jon asks Tormund to help him rescue the stranded wildlings there.

After joining up with a clan of the cannibalistic Thenns, Tormund leads the wildlings in a rampage through the lands south of the Wall, including a sack of Mole's Town.

Several days later, Jon's half-sister Sansa Stark arrives at the Wall fleeing her abusive husband Ramsay Bolton.

Jon asks Tormund and the wildlings to reinforce defenses at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the Night Watch's fortress closest to Hardhome.

Later, scouts find the Brotherhood Without Banners and Sandor Clegane attempting to pass through the Wall, and interns them in Eastwatch's ice cells.

Later, Jon, Davos, Jorah Mormont and Gendry arrive, revealing that they need to capture a wight in order to convince Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister of the White Walkers' existence.

Following Daenerys massacring King's Landing after the city surrenders to her, Jon tries but fails to dissuade her from more destruction and ultimately assassinates her, for which he is exiled to the Night's Watch.

Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju has received critical acclaim for his performance as Tormund Giantsbane in the television series.

He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014.