Game of Thrones is upon up. Swords are upon us. Beards are upon us. So these old pics might surprise you...

He might be a side-character when compared to some of the show's big hitters like Jaime Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen, but it's fair to say that Tormund has made a big impact on the fans since he joined Game of Thrones as a wildling back in season three. He's come a long way since then - developing a lasting friendship with Jon Snow and others - however one thing that hasn't changed is his huge beard. I mean look at it. Look at it. Although, obviously, outside of the show, the actor who plays Tormund, Kristofer Hivju, isn't a warrior among the Free Folk. In fact, he's a 40-year-old Norweigan actor who has played a variety of roles in movies like The Thing and Force Majeure. And as surprising as it might be for viewers who know him as raider from north of the wall, not every role he's played in the past involved him growing a huge amount of facial hair. In fact, at points, he's actually had none at all. Behold Tormund Giantsbane as you have never known him before... You can find more of these images on the actor's Instagram (so long as you're willing to creep all the way back through his timeline). The reaction to the image being shared online in recent years has been how you might expect: https://twitter.com/unklenick/status/897458316217114624 https://twitter.com/_InSomeone/status/887357950842503168 https://twitter.com/Chef_Lu_Bu/status/1110685348185731073 https://twitter.com/blasianbri_/status/1070226484936261634