Biography - Ian Whyte

Who is Ian Whyte?

Ian Whyte is an actor, stuntman, and former professional basketball player by profession and Welsh by nationality. He is best known for his time with Newcastle Eagles and roles in movies such as Alien vs. Predator (2004. 2007), Game of Thrones (2011), and Star Wars (2015, 2016, 2017).

Ian Whyte – Age, Parents, Siblings

Ian Whyte’s birth took place on 17 September 1971 in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, and was raised in Brighton, England. His full name is Ian Stuart Whyte. There is no information known about his parents, childhood, and siblings.

Education, Ethnicity

By the time he was 17 years old, he was already 7'1" tall. He studied for a year at Henry Hudson High School in New Jersey, graduating in 1990. There he earned sports scholarships to Iona College in New York, where he studied for two years before transferring to Clarion University in Pennsylvania. He has earned a master’s degree in Marketing.

His ethnicity is English.

Ian Whyte – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

Ian Whyte is a happily married man. He tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Amy on July 30, 2001. His wife is a business development manager at Gordon Brown Law Firm. Together they have welcomed a son.

As of now, there have been no rumors of extramarital affairs or divorce between him and his wife.

Also read: Kristofer Hivju - Norwegian Actor, Writer, Producer 

Ian Whyte – Career

Before fame

Ian Whyte started his career as a professional basketball player. He caught the attention of national team scouts who saw his physical attributes. He soon progressed to the junior national team ranks. His 2.16-meter height helped him to great lengths in his career as a basketball player.

In 1994, he joined London Towers and played for them for a season and transferred to The London Leopards, its rival team. He then played for teams in countries such as France, Belgium, Greece, and Portugal.

Whyte soon returned to England. There he played for Newcastle Eagles for five years and collected 80 caps for the England national team before his early retirement. He spoke of the phone call,

"I was in my office musing over what my next career move might be when the phone rang," Ian told me. "It was Samantha Foggo from the Eagles and she was so excited she was hardly coherent. 

A casting agent, Suzanne Smith, had phoned asking if the Eagles had any `tall, fit people' - tall being over 7ft - and when Sam asked why, she was told it was for a film to be called Alien v Predator. I'd retired from basketball in April 2003 and this was July. Was I interested? Of course I was.”

After he was approached in 2003 for a film role in Alien vs. Predator, he gladly retired and started his second career, as a stuntman and actor.

Also read: Dar Salim - Actor of Game of Thrones, Dicte

Films, Series

In 2004, Ian Whyte played four characters in the film Alien vs. Predator. This was followed by supporting roles in films including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) along with actress Frances de la Tour, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Dragonball Evolution (2009), Clash of the Titans (2010), Prometheus (2012), Hercules (2014).

Also read: Hannah Murray - Actress of Skins, Game of Thrones

In the Star Wars film series, Whyte has played numerous roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017).

Most of all, he is recognized for portraying multiple characters in Game of Thrones (2011, 2012, 2015-2016). His characters in the series include White Walker, Gregor Clegane, and Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun (Giant). But the life of an actor is not always the glamorous one, Whyte sharing his experience said,

"When actors are mentioned, people think of sharp suits, Oscar ceremonies and red carpets. But in reality, it's working 14 hours a day for months on end and then being totally insecure about where the next job is going to come from."

Co-stars

On the set of Game of Thrones, he has worked with Pilou Asbæk, Mark Gatiss, Dar Salim, Jacob Anderson, and Josef Altin, to name a few.

Ian Whyte – Net Worth, Salary

Whyte’s net worth and salary are not known and there have been no estimates as well. 

Ian Whyte – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

He is present on social media including Twitter, and Instagram but is absent on the Facebook platform.

Also read: List of Game of Thrones cast