A second generation Norwegian actor, Kristofer Hivju was born on 7 December 1978 in Oslo. His father Erik Hivju is a prominent character actor who appeared with his son in the short film Flax where Kristofer shared screenwriting credit with director Bård Ivar Engelsås.Kristofer made his American Film debut in Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s 2011 remake of John Carpenter's The Thing. Next he was seen in M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth but he is most recognizable as fan favorite Tormund Giantsbane on HBO's Game of Thrones.