How GOT star Isaac Hempstead Wright ditched fame for neuroscience

Game Of Thrones star Isaac Hempstead Wright has swapped acting for a wholly different career path after studying for a degree in neuroscience.

The actor, 26, who revealed on Monday he'd tied the knot with his long-term girlfriend, had shared his passions for particle physics while starring on the HBO show, which concluded with its divisive finale in 2019.

Isaac starred as Bran Stark in all eight seasons of Game Of Thrones, and his character was at the centre of its hugely controversial ending, when he was crowned King of Westeros.

Since the series ended, Isaac has stepped away from the big screen to finish his degree at the University of Birmingham, but still attends fan events to discuss his role in the series.

He first shared his interest in neuroscience in 2016, and admitted it first stemmed from his physics teacher who would share the 'interesting concepts' with him.

Earlier this week Isaac shared a series of photos from his intimate London wedding to his partner Martha Comerford, who he simply referred to as 'M'.

Isaac first shared his unlikely interest while he was still on Game Of Thrones, admitting it began while he took a break from the show to focus on his school exams.

He told People: 'I've gone through various interests, before physics it was neuroscience and how the brain works.

'Through that, I had a fantastic physics teacher at my school, he is a really smart guy and I would talk to him in general about things that might link to neuroscience and before I knew it he was telling me about other interesting concepts and I got into the whole idea of particle physics and that fascinated me.' 

Isaac said his interest in particle physics led him to visit the world's biggest particle accelerator in Sur, Switzerland, but said he doesn't see it as a career path.

When Game of Thrones ended in 2019, he admitted he was keen to focus on a different path to acting.

He told GQ: 'It feels like I've just lived an entire career and an entire life, but I've literally just started my life. I mean, I'm 19. 

'I feel like I've got time to try and be like ''right let's take stock, and have fun for a bit'', so yeah the plan is: just relax and have fun, get some acting jobs here and there and then come back and go for it at uni.'

Isaac went on to land a BSc in neuroscience at University College London and focused on the neurology of eye movements, which led to him authoring a paper on 'oculomotor changes in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)'. 

Alongside his degree, he's stepped away from acting, and is now doing 'clinical training' in London.

Despite stepping away from the screen, Isaac but still continues to cash on his famous role, promoting a Game of Thrones soap in a post on Instagram, and attending fan conventions to discuss his time on the show.

Isaac has also settled down with his now-wife Martha Comerford, who has featured in a handful of snaps on his Instagram, including a gallery of images he shared in May.

Martha began her career in journalism, but now works in the Digital Communications team at the House of Commons.

Isaac shared idyllic snaps from his intimate wedding in London, writing in the caption: 'The best person I have ever met, the best day of my life, the best friends and family we could ever ask for. What a day, what a life - I love you M.

'An enormous thank you to everyone who made the day so special.'

The images showed them emerging from the ceremony as confetti was thrown by their friends and family. 

Back in 2019 when Game of Thrones ended, Isaac revealed he did not expect his character Bran to ascend to the Iron Throne in the divisive season finale. 

The British actor told 9Honey he was nonetheless pleased that a 'disabled character' was crowned king.

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Having joined the cast of Game of Thrones when he was 12, Isaac didn't have the 'slightest inkling' that the youngest living Stark would become King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.

'Nobody thought it was going to be Bran - least of all me! So I didn't even have a slight inkling,' he said. 

Isaac also spoke of his pride at Bran representing the disabled community on screen.

'I think it's brilliant to have a disabled character win the whole game. What are the odds of that? There are dragons and all these other things going on and Bran comes out on top, it was really special,' he said.

He was particularly happy that his character went from 'Bran the Broken' to 'The Lord of the Six Kingdoms'.

'In the very first episode, you think he's toast, he's dead,' he explained, referring to when Bran was pushed out a window by Jaime Lannister. 

'He goes from being this vulnerable character to the most powerful there is,' he added.

Isaac revealed at the time that he liked the controversial ending, but acknowledged that it would have been impossible for the writers to please everybody. 

'I think the thing to remember is Game of Thrones isn't a superhero movie, it's not all going to be tied up in a neat bow when you find out everything about all these people, that's not how it works,' he said. 

In the dramatic final shock twist, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne Jon Snow (Kit Harington) was exiled for stabbing his lover Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).

Jon was handed the punishment to live out the rest of his days with the Night's Watch, take no wife and father no children for the murder of the Mad Queen. 

While the pack survived, the Stark family went their separate ways in an emotional sequence that broke fans hearts.

Bran was named king of the six kingdoms, Sansa (Sophie Turner) became Queen in the North while Arya (Maisie Williams) headed out to explore unknown territory. 

Throwing his support behind the HBO bosses, Isaac pointed out the ending wasn't 'predictable' and that was what the producers were hoping for.