Claim: Jaime Lannister's family is wealthy and powerful.

Jaime Lannister is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin , and its television adaptation Game of Thrones . He becomes a prominent point of view character in the novels beginning in A Storm of Swords -LRB- 2000 -RRB- .   Introduced in A Game of Thrones -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , Jaime is a knight of the Kingsguard and a member of House Lannister , one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the fictional kingdom of Westeros . Although he first appears to be unscrupulous and amoral , he later proves to be far more complex , honorable and sympathetic .   Jaime is portrayed by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau on the HBO series Game of Thrones . He was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television , a Critics ' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a People Choice Awards Favorite TV Anti-Hero for his performance in the show 's third season . He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2012 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 and 2017 .