Daario Naharis

"I only have two talents in this world: war and women."

- Daario Naharis

Daario Naharis is a recurring character in the third and fourth seasons. He has been confirmed to return in Season 5. He is played by guest star Michiel Huisman, taking over the role from Ed Skrein, who portrayed the character in Season 3. Originally a lieutenant in the Second Sons, a sellsword company, he takes over the company after killing his superiors Mero and Prendahl na Ghezn and aligns with Daenerys Targaryen.

Background
Daario is a Tyroshi sellsword, employed as a lieutenant in the Second Sons. He is apparently held in high enough regard by the company's co-captains, Mero and Prendahl na Ghezn, that they allow him to join them in contract negotiations and discussions of the company's future.

His weapons-of-choice are a stiletto and an arakh, with custom-made hilts in the shape of beautiful, naked women.

Season 3
Daario Naharis joins the captains when they visit Daenerys Targaryen, who hopes to convince them to break their contract with Yunkai and fight for her instead. Daario sees through Daenerys' bluff that she has 10,000 Unsullied, reminding her that she has only 8,000. When the Second Sons depart with Daenerys' offer and a barrel of wine, Daario's gaze lingers on the young queen.

Back at their own camp, Daario, Mero and Prendahl discuss the situation, with Mero and Prendahl deciding to assassinate Daenerys. At Mero's behest, a bedslave hands out random coins – Daario draws the Braavosi coin that indicates he is the one to do the deed. His only response is "valar morghulis" - "all men must die". That night, Daario, wearing the armor of an Unsullied slips into Daenerys' tent and takes Missandei hostage. He then presents the heads of Mero and Prendahl and informs her he has taken command of the Second Sons. Intrigued, Daenerys demands that he swear fealty to her. Daario bends the knee and swears the Second Sons, his sword, his life, and his heart to Daenerys.

Daario later assists in planning the siege of Yunkai, and is selected, along with Ser Jorah Mormont and Grey Worm to infiltrate the city and open the gates from the inside. The plan succeeds brilliantly, and Jorah and Grey Worm return to their queen triumphant. Daenerys expresses concern over Daario's whereabouts, but he appears a moment later, presenting Yunkai's bloodstained flag to her.

Season 4
Ser Barristan and Missandei reveal that Grey Worm and Daario have been indulging in a bit of gambling; they have been at the contest since midnight and have missed a morning meeting with the queen as a result. Daenerys is very irritated to discover that their contest is a game of who can balance their sword for the longest, the prize being the honor of riding at her side when the march resumes. Daenerys assigns the pair to guard the livestock as punishment for their childish game. When they fail to move, she warns them that the "winner" of the contest must find a new queen, prompting them to drop their weapons instantly. Grey Worm's gaze lingers on Missandei, which Daario takes as a sign that he is interested in her, and points out that this problematic given Grey Worm's eunuch status. Grey Worm tells Daario that he is not a smart man for saying such things, to which Daario replies that would rather be a man with no brain and two balls. Later on, Daario slips away from his post to discuss "strategy" with Daenerys; he gives her flowers under the guise of  a lesson in the botany of Slaver's Bay in which he points out that Daenerys must know the land she is to rule.

At the gate of Meereen, Daario volunteers to fight Meereen's champion in single combat after Daenerys rejects the rest of her inner circle from fighting. Daario declines the use of a horse, noting that they aren't as intelligent as humans. Daario ends the duel with ruthless efficiency, striking down the horse with his stiletto and decapitating the dazed champion with his arakh. After the Meereenese fire a volley of arrows in a symbol of displeasure, Daario urinates on the nearest one in a symbol of defiance.

After Daenerys takes control of Meereen, Daario announces at a council meeting that the Second Sons have captured the 93 ships of the Meereenese Navy on his orders. When asked by Daenerys why the Seconds Sons took the navy without being instructed to, he responds by saying that he heard she liked ships.

Later on, Daario comes to Daenerys' private quarters of the Great Pyramid and brings her flowers. As Dany refuses him, he tells he has only two talents in his life: war and women. Daenerys asks him about his loyalty and Daario swears his sword and life are hers and asks her to let him do what he can the best, so to send him kill her enemies. Instead, Daenerys focuses on the other thing Daario claims to be good at and orders him to take off his clothes. When he leaves her bedchamber the following morning he runs into Jorah, cheekily telling him that it's a good time to talk to Daenerys, as she is in a very good mood.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Daario Naharis is a Tyroshi sellsword and is one of the three leaders of the mercenary company known as the Stormcrows, who are active in the Slaver's Bay region of Essos.

In the books, he is described as having dyed blue long curly hair and a matching dyed blue beard with three prongs, though he dyed his mustachios gold. He also has a gold tooth. His loud physical appearance is typical of Tyroshi sellswords, who have a reputation for being flashy and flamboyant. He wears a Dothraki arakh on his left hip and a Myrish stiletto on his right hip, their golden hilts custom-made in the shape of naked wanton women.

Daario states that he "count[s] no day as lived unless I have loved a woman, slain a foeman, and eaten a fine meal".

As in the series, the Daario of the books is quite taken with Daenerys, and kills Prendahl so he can switch sides. He slays not Mero, but Sallor the Bald, the third captain of the Stormcrows. Mero is killed by Barristan Selmy when he attempts to kill Daenerys.