Samwell Tarly, or simply Sam, 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 1996's A Game of Thrones, Samwell is the elder son of Lord Randyll Tarly of Horn Hill and his wife Lady Melessa Florent. A self-professed coward with a love for books and songs, Samwell was forced by his father to abandon his birthright and join the Night's Watch so that his younger brother could become heir to Horn Hill. While at the Wall, he meets Jon Snow and quickly becomes his closest friend and ally. He subsequently appeared in 1998's A Clash of Kings before becoming a point-of-view character in 2000's A Storm of Swords and 2005's A Feast for Crows. Samwell is portrayed by English actor John Bradley in the HBO television adaptation. Character Description Samwell Tarly is the elder son and firstborn child of Lord Randyll Tarly of Horn Hill and his wife Lady Melessa Florent, and has four siblings — younger sister Talla, two other unnamed sisters, and a younger brother Dickon. Through his mother, Samwell is also second cousin to Shireen Baratheon and Edric Storm, who were born to Melessa's first cousins Selyse and Delena. He has dark hair, pale eyes and a large moon-shaped face, and is very obese. Jon Snow originally comments that Sam is the fattest boy he has ever seen, and estimates him to weigh . A gentle young man, Samwell is fond of music and songs, and prefers books over weapons, and is afraid of blood and violence, which earned his father's intense contempt. After being frustrated at Samwell for years, Randyll's attentions turned to grooming his more promising younger son Dickon, who showed all of the physical vigor that Samwell lacked, and decided to have Dickon inherit the Tarly title. On Samwell's fifteenth birthday, Randyll force him to join the Night's Watch and renounce his birthright of heir to Horn Hill, threatening death if he was to refuse. After arriving at Castle Black, Samwell was bullied for being overweight and unskilled in combat, and was often called "Ser Piggy" and "Lord of Ham". However, his new-found friendship with a sympathetic Jon Snow allows his character to start unfolding positively, and earns him the position as the personal steward of Maester Aemon. While lacking