( CNN ) -- JJ Murphy , an actor who was set to join the `` Game of Thrones '' cast , died August 8 , his agent said . He was 86 . `` I had the pleasure and honour to be his Agent for the last 18 months and have never encountered a man with more spirit , passion and love for his craft , '' Philip Young said in a statement . `` At this time our thoughts are with his family . ' Murphy had been cast in the role of Ser Denys Mallister , the oldest member of the Night 's Watch on HBO 's hit series . The Belfast Telegraph reported that the actor died just four days after filming his first scenes on `` Game of Thrones . '' On Monday that show 's producers , D.B . Weiss and David Benioff , expressed their condolences in a statement and said they would not be seeking another actor to replace Murphy . `` We will not be recasting J.J . Murphy. , '' their statement said . `` He was a lovely man , and the best Denys Mallister we could have hoped for . And now his watch is ended . '' According to a biography provided by his agent , the actor 's work was well known in Northern Ireland where `` Game of Thrones '' films . Murphy trained at the Old Group Drama School in the 1940s and '50s , and was a member of the Arts Theatre Players Company and the early Lyric Players . He was active in the actors trade union and his work in support of Irish actors won him an honorary lifetime membership with the former British Actors ' Equity Association . He also sponsored an orphanage in Romania . Murphy 's last stage appearances was in 2012 at The Lyric Theatre in Belfast , where he acted in a production of Joseph Tomelty 's `` All Souls Night . '' He also had a role in the upcoming film `` Dracula Untold , '' which features `` Game of Thrones '' star Charles Dance . Murphy is survived by his wife Mary , and two children , Joseph and Jane . People we 've lost in 2014 . CNN 's Carolyn Sung contributed to this story .
Murphy was going to appear in ` ` Game of Death '' He was to play Ser Denys Mallister on the show . They said they wo n't like the idea .