‘Game of Thrones’ actor Michael Patrick dead at 35 following Motor Neurone Disease battle
Game of Thrones actor Michael Patrick, also known as Michael Campbell, has passed away at the age of 35 after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in February 2023.
The news was shared via social media by his wife, Naomi, who announced that he passed away on April 7th at a Northern Island Hospice.
“He lived a life as full as any human can live,” she wrote, before adding, “Mick was an inspiration to everyone who was privileged enough to come into contact with him, not just in the past few years during his illness but in every day of his life.”
The heartbreaking post went on, “Joy, abundance of spirit, infectious laughter. A titan of a ginger-haired man.”
The actor, who appeared in a season six episode of Game of Thrones as a wilding rioter, recently won one of the UK’s most prestigious drama awards for his performance as Richard III in a wheelchair.
He was honoured in January 2025 at a ceremony where he received a standing ovation after taking home the Judges’ award at The Stage Awards, celebrating theatre up and down the UK at London’s famous Royal Opera House.
He performed the leading role at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, where he was originally from. After learning of his death, Lyric’s executive producer Jimmy Fay paid tribute to Campbell, sharing: “These islands have lost a great artist, and the sky is brighter tonight with his star.”
Patrick and writing partner Oisín Kearney had created a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play that was influenced by Patrick’s own ailments.
He explained to BBC News at the time, “In Shakespeare’s version, Richard III is deformed from birth. They found his skeleton in a car park, and it looked like he had scoliosis.”
He added, “We changed it so that at the start of the play Richard gets news that he’s got a terminal illness, something like MND that’s going to get worse.”
He has left behind a great legacy, not least in the award-winning play, described by Fay as “A now legendary production [which] was one of the greatest performances ever on the Lyric stage.”
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