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Everything to Know About Iwan Rheon, Who Plays Tenax in Peacock's Those About to Die

The Game of Thrones villain is betting on violence in Peacock's new gladiator drama.

By Benjamin Bullard
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The great Sir Anthony Hopkins may rule the realm as the Roman Emperor Vespasian in Those About to Die, but there’s an entire ensemble cast powering Peacock’s  new gladiator series from blockbuster film director Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day, The Patriot).

Set during the height of Rome’s First-Century imperial era, Those About to Die captures both the political highs and the bread-and-circuses lows of the gladiatorial combat that dominated popular entertainment in the empire's ancient times.

RELATED: Those About to Die: Everything to Know About the Cast & Characters in Peacock's Gladiator Series

Hustling for coins at the lower end of the show’s social spectrum is an ambitious, unscrupulous bettor’s bookmaker named Tenax, played by Iwan Rheon — an actor who already knows a thing or two about swords, sandals, and (of course!) good, old-fashioned treachery.

Who Is Those About to Die Star Iwan Rheon?

Tenax on Those About To Die Episode 101

If you’re into Game of Thrones, you likely already recognize Iwan Rheon: Through four seasons, he played Ramsay Bolton on the series, soaking up the lion’s share of fans’ well-earned contempt in the process, as one of the dark fantasy’s most conniving and deadly villains. Roles that toy with old traditions are nothing new for the 39-year-old star, in fact: One of his very first acting gigs found him speaking his native Welsh language in the long-running Welsh soap opera Pobol Y Cwm.

RELATED: Those About to Die: Everything to Know About Roland Emmerich's Gladiator Series on Peacock

After taking the Hollywood acting leap, Rheon turned up in a wide range of TV and film projects in addition to his high-profile Game of Thrones gig. On the small screen, fans have found him as the supervillain Maximus in the short-lived Marvel series Inhumans, or playing a lively Neil Gaiman leprechaun in the mature fantasy series American Gods. At the movies, Rheon is best know for his memorable turn as Mötley Crüe rocker Mick Mars in the 2019 band biopic The Dirt.

Iwan Rhoen's Relationship Status

Those About To Die Keyart

When it comes to romantic and family life, Rheon has remained intensely private. Recent reports suggest that he’s newly separated from Zoe Grisedale-Sherry, the British actor/writer/producer with whom he shares a child. The couple has successfully kept details about their young son under wraps, with a lone 2019 photo from Grisedale-Sherry’s Instagram account serving as the sole basis for tabloid speculation that places his current age at around five or six years old.

As for Rheon’s activity across social media, you can track him on both X and on Instagram, where he regularly posts images and updates about his acting and environmental efforts — and perhaps even the occasional plug for his solo second career as a singer-songwriter musician.

Find Iwan Rheon taking bets on Rome’s gladiator games in Those About to Die, now streaming on Peacock.

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