The tallest man in Europe, 7ft 7in former basketball player turned actor Neil Fingleton, who played roles in Game of Thrones, and the X-Men and Avengers films, has died aged just 36. Such early death in the excessively tall is not uncommon. Robert Wadlow, the world’s tallest person on record died at 22, and of the 10 tallest people ever recorded, the oldest died at 56. In people, height is negatively correlated with longevity; that is, taller individuals don’t tend to live as long. It’s kind of unfortunate that I’m both a researcher into ageing and 6ft 1in tall.