Wilko Johnson

John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 - 21 November 2022), known professionally as Wilko Johnson, was an English musician (guitarist and songwriter) and actor. He was best known for being a member of the bands Dr. Feelgood (1971–77) and Ian Dury and the Blockheads (1980-82) before founding the Wilko Johnson Band, which continues to tour successfully today. He was also contributed to talking head music documentaries, mostly commenting on guitar-playing and 1970s British rock.
==Game of Thrones==
Johnson made his acting debut in Game of Thrones. He plays Ser Ilyn Payne and was confirmed in the role on 2 September 2010. He initially appeared as a guest star in the first season and returned in this role for the second season.
The cold death-glare which Johnson is famous for effecting is really just part of his on-stage performance, and in real-life he is known for being a warm, funny person prone to laughter. The producers of Game of Thrones hired him because of this famous "cold-eyed, thousand yard stare", and didn't even audition anyone else for his role (Ser Ilyn is famous in the books for having a piercing, unsettling stare).GQ Magazine
==Cancer diagnosis==
On January 9, 2013 Johnson announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer of the pancreas. With the tumor assessed to be inoperable, Johnson chose not to pursue further treatment, as chemotherapy had no significant chance of working against this kind of cancer. Given an estimated ten months to live, Johnson announced plans for a series of farewell gigs in the UK.The Guardian
In April 2014, however, Johnson revealed startling news to the press. Despite the estimate that he had only about ten months to live (to October 2013 at the most), he was surprised as the year passed that he was not becoming particularly sick, and the deadline came and went. Eventually, his doctors discerned that his tumor was a rare, less aggressive form of pancreatic cancer, which could potentially be removed through radical surgery. By early 2014, Johnson's tumor had grown from being walnut-sized to being nearly the size of a soccer ball, giving him the impression that he'd suddenly gained a beer gut, as well as making it difficult to play his guitar because it rested painfully over the tumor.
Johnson underwent the dangerous operation despite the chance that it might threaten his life, because if he did not take the chance he would certainly die within a matter of months anyway. The operation (which was so rare that the procedure doesn't have a formal name) removed the large tumor, as well as Johnson's pancreas, spleen, a section of his stomach and intestines (both large and small), and also removed and reconstructed some of the blood vessels connecting to his liver. Due to the removal of his pancreas the operation rendered him a diabetic for the rest of his life. The operation lasted for 11 hours, and the removed tumor weighed 3 kg (over 6.5 lb).
The operation was apparently a success, but it was weeks before Johnson could even think of leaving the hospital. 
The TV series thankfully did not decide to kill off Ser Ilyn to explain Johnson's absence after Season 2. Instead he has been mentioned in dialogue as alive, but simply "off-screen". The character was last mentioned in the Season 4 finale, which aired in mid-June 2014. 
On August 17, 2014, journalist Charles Shaar Murray posted on Facebook that Johnson is recovering well, and that he hopes to return to Game of Thrones as Ilyn Payne some day:
:"Yesterday: a lovely Sunday afternoon by the seaside… to be precise, hanging out with Wilko Johnson and a bunch of his mates… Wilk’s still in the comparatively early stages of recovery from his massive life-saving surgery, but he’s in good spirits (though he’s no longer drinking any), working hard to rebuild strength and stamina, itching to resume maltreating Telecasters (guitars) in public and even speculating on returning to Game of Thrones once Ser Ilyn Payne is no longer ill in pain and he’s strong enough to wield the Big Sword once more. And he thanks all y’all for the good vibes.""WatchersOnTheWall.com
On October 22, 2014, Johnson publicly appeared at the Q Awards, annual music awards run by the music magazine Q, where he received the Q Icon award. Johnson stated that the operation had apparently succeeded in removing all of the cancer from his body. He had recovered enough strength to appear at the public awards event, but said he would still face many months fully recovering from his grueling surgery. Johnson remarked, "It's so weird and so strange that it's kind of hard to come to terms with it in my mind. Now, I'm spending my time gradually coming to terms with the idea that my death is not imminent, that I am going to live on."The Guardian He went on to say, "They cured me. So I'm hoping to get all my strength back soon and get back on the road. So the moral of this story is, you never know what's going to happen."
Johnson has resumed touring and has said about the TV series, "I'd never done any acting before, I just got involved. Unfortunately my cancer came and interrupted, but I do know that my character hasn't actually been killed off and I may well be in the next series. I enjoyed it so much I really would like to, it was really great fun doing it – it really was a good experience."Gloucester Citizen
Johnson passed away on 21 November, 2022.The Quietus
==Credits==
===Guest starring===
==See also==
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==References==
de:Wilko Johnson
ru:Уилко Джонсон
Category:Guest starring cast members of Game of Thrones