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Sandor Clegane with his burn visible.
Sandor Clegane, nicknamed The Hound, is a supporting character in Game of Thrones. He is played by Rory McCann and appears in the first episode.
Sandor Clegane is a skilled warrior in the service of House Lannister, although he refuses to take holy vows and is not a knight. He has a hideously burned face and is known for his fierce demeanor and lack of chivalry. He is the younger brother of Ser Gregor Clegane (nicknamed The Mountain), a monstrously huge knight and arguably the most feared man in Westeros. Sandor is currently serving as bodyguard to King Joffrey Baratheon.
Season 1
Winter is Coming
Sandor Clegane is part of the King's group which visits Winterfell in order to offer Eddard Stark the role of Hand of the King. He acts as the bodyguard of Joffrey Baratheon and is present at the feast held in the King's honor.
The Kingsroad
On the kingsroad, the royal party reaches the Crossroads Inn, a noted waystop on the way south to the capital. Sandor introduces Sansa to Ser Ilyn Payne, the king's headsman, a frightening-looking man who had his tongue torn out on the orders of the Mad King many years ago. Joffrey saves Sansa from this unpleasantness and takes her for a walk along the riverbank.
Later as Eddard goes to kill the direwolf, Lady, he passes the Hound arriving with Mycah's corpse. "He ran, but not very fast," he says as Eddard passes by.
Lord Snow
Sandor stands guard over Prince Joffrey during the tournament held in honor of Eddard's appointment as Hand. Sandor watches distastefully as his brother Gregor kills Ser Hugh of the Vale in an apparent mishap. Littlefinger tells Sansa that Sandor and Gregor hate one another because, when he was very young, Sandor played with one of Gregor's toys without his elder brother's permission. Gregor held Sandor's face over an open fire, resulting in his hideous burns. They have been enemies ever since.
Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things
Gregor is unhorsed in a joust with Ser Loras Tyrell, which Sandor finds amusing. Gregor then attacks Loras with his sword and Sandor prevents Gregor from killing him. They exchange several blows until King Robert orders a halt to the madness. Ser Loras declares Sandor a champion and the smallfolk in the crowd cheer him, to Sandor's surprise.
You Win or You Die
Sandor stands guard over Joffrey as he commands his advisers and vassals to swear fealty to him. When Eddard attempts to have Joffrey and Cersei arrested, Sandor joins the Lannister soldiers and men of the City Watch in cutting down Eddard's bodyguards, allowing him to be taken prisoner.
The Pointy End
In King's Landing, Sansa Stark and Septa Mordane hear sounds of fighting. When they are confronted by Lannister guardsmen led by Sandor Clegane, Septa Mordane tells Sansa to leave whilst she confronts them. However, Sandor later finds and takes Sansa into custody.
In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Clegane is a minor vassal house sworn to the Lannisters. Ser Gregor Clegane is an eight-foot-tall warrior, the 'Mountain Who Rides', the most feared warrior in the Seven Kingdoms. He and his brother Sandor detest one another, resulting in Sandor leaving home at a young age to work as a sellsword and freerider. Sandor is known as 'the Hound' for the three dogs which are his house emblem.