Sandor Clegane

Sandor Clegane, nicknamed The Hound, is a major character in Game of Thrones. He is played by starring cast member Rory McCann and débuts in the first episode of the first season. Sandor is the personal bodyguard of Joffrey Baratheon. He joined the Kingsguard when Joffrey took the Iron Throne. He is taciturn and brutal but not without compassion.

Background
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. In his youth Gregor caused his scars by holding his face in a fire to punish him for using one of Gregor's toys. Sandor is the personal bodyguard of Joffrey Baratheon.

Season 1
Sandor is part of King Robert Baratheon's retinue when he visits Winterfell in order to offer Eddard Stark the role of Hand of the King. He acts as the bodyguard of Prince Joffrey and is present at the feast held in the King's honor. Robert offers a betrothal between Joffrey and Sansa Stark and Eddard accepts both engagements.

On the kingsroad back to the capital the royal party reaches the Crossroads Inn. Sandor introduces Sansa to Ser Ilyn Payne, the king's headsman, a fearsome 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. Joffrey provokes an argument with the butcher's son Mycah and Sansa's sister Arya and is bitten by Arya's pet dire wolf Nymeria when he attacks them. Joffrey lies about the incident and Sansa supports his version of events. Queen Cersei orders Sansa's dire wolf Lady executed. Sandor chases down and kills Mycah. As Eddard goes to kill Lady he passes the Hound arriving with Mycah's corpse. "He ran, but not very fast," he says as Eddard passes by.

On his return to King's Landing Sandor stands guard over 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. 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.

Sandor is amused when Gregor is unhorsed in a joust with Ser Loras Tyrell. Gregor attacks Loras and Sandor intervenes. They exchange 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 and embarrassment.

King Robert dies following a hunting accident. Sandor stands guard over King Joffrey as his advisers and vassals 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. Sandor leads a party of Lannister guardsmen to the Red Keep where they slaughter Eddard's entourage and capture Sansa.

Sandor guard Joffrey during the execution of Eddard Stark on the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor. Joffrey holds court, trying the singer Marillion for making up a 'funny' song about Robert and Cersei. Joffrey asks Marillion if he wants to keep his hands or tongue, and Marillion chooses his hands. Joffrey then takes Sansa to see her father's head and cruelly mocks her, even having Ser Meryn Trant beat her when she suggests that Robb might win the war. Unexpectedly, Sandor offers kind words to her afterwards.

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 That Rides' and the most feared warrior in the Seven Kingdoms, is Sandor's older brother. The Clegane brothers 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 and for his fierce loyalty to house Lannister.