“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” tonight’s latest HBO Max adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga, is all about one knight’s struggles to win a tournament.

We follow our young, wandering warrior Ser Duncan the Tall — played by the very tall 6′ 5”, 260-lb. former Irish rugby player Peter Claffey — on his quest to prove himself.

Claffey, 29, has been preparing for what is obviously his breakthrough role for years.

“Rugby got quite serious when I was about 12 or 13. Sport became my identity up to the age of about 22 when I just wasn’t really good enough anymore,” Claffey said in a Zoom interview from Belfast.

“I remember thinking, I’ve put a lot on the back burner trying to do this. But I’ve always loved playing music, writing comedy sketches, acting.

“So, it was like a last-gasp attempt to go down that route and see if I could make any headway. I took a chance and went to a one-year, intensive Screen Acting School in Dublin and I’ve just been super-duper lucky since then.

“I met my agents after that. They’ve helped me navigate the world big time. So, I feel I’m doing what I wanted to do all along.”

As for stepping into this international spotlight?

“There’s so many expectations before anybody even sees it,” he marveled. “I’m a super ‘Game of Thrones’ fan. I was a massive fan of the original series too. I would love to contribute to that in a sense.”

This six-episode season is all about Duncan’s quest to win the tournament.

“Duncan’s quite a simple sort, kind of a boy becoming a man in a really rotten, hard to navigate world. He’s got a simple outlook on things, sees things very black and white. It’s good or bad.

“What he starts to learn through his journey, especially in Season 1 and in the first novella, is how complicated it is to get on and navigate this world.

“But what’s really beautiful about him, for sure, is that he’s got such a good heart. I love that we’ve leant into the fact that he’s brilliant with animals as well.”

Claffey sees a contemporary aspect in Martin’s characters.

“We’re so used to in the ‘Game of Thrones’ world seeing people want to be king. Or they want to be this, that, everything. And we live in a world now where everybody wants everything

“Duncan just wants to be safe and live his life. If he could sleep under a castle roof rather than out under a tree, he’d consider that an enormous achievement.

“There’s something really refreshing and organic about that.”

Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell in a scene from “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” (Photo Steffan Hill/HBO)