Peter Claffey makes earnestness worth watching, giving Dunk an imposing presence and a gentleness that survives the jokes. His partnership with Dexter Sol Ansell makes a persuasive case for him, even when the storytelling stretches thin.
Fi1m perspective
The jokes in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026) come at Dunk’s expense, and Peter Claffey lets them land. His Ser Duncan ‘Dunk’ the Tall wants to do right, an earnestness that could easily become dull. Claffey makes that wish worth taking seriously without draining the humour from it. We grew fond of him sooner than we expected, because his decency survives the comedy. It is a good performance in a programme whose story sometimes stretches thin.
His earlier parts include Cormac Kelly in Wreck (2022) and Barry in Small Things Like These (2024). The latter, Tim Mielants’s adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novella, is a film we admired for its careful construction and Cillian Murphy’s restraint. It is not the basis for our interest in Claffey. That rests on Dunk, a substantial lead which gives his gentleness time to register and lets him sustain the give and take of a comic partnership.
Dexter Sol Ansell’s Egg is the livelier half of the pairing, and Claffey is sensible enough not to compete with him. Dunk could become a tedious companion if his goodness amounted to nothing more than solemn disapproval. Claffey’s imposing stature and gentle manner help, but the ease of their exchanges matters more. Their affection keeps the comedy going after the initial mismatch has been established. Directors Sarah Adina Smith and Owen Harris keep that relationship convincing when the programme grows darker, though some of its early pleasure diminishes.
There are limits to what the pair can do for material that sometimes runs short of story and leans too heavily on toilet humour. Claffey makes Dunk’s goodness credible; he cannot make every joke worth the interruption. We would want another substantial role before treating this as the measure of everything he can do. Try A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms for the pairing if fantasy appeals, with some patience for its coarser jokes.
Biography
Peter Claffey is an Irish actor. Born on 28 July 1996 in Portumna, County Galway, he played rugby union for Connacht Rugby and represented Ireland at under-20 level before retiring from the sport in 2019 to pursue acting. He trained at the Bow Street Academy for Screen Acting in Dublin, graduating in 2020.
Claffey began his screen career in 2022 with roles in the series Harry Wild, Bad Sisters and Wreck. He appeared in Vikings: Valhalla (2022) and played Barry in the film Small Things Like These (2024). He stars as Ser Duncan 'Dunk' the Tall in the HBO series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026). He made his professional stage debut in 2022 at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2025.
