Matt Smith has joined the cast of House of the Dragon. How does he feel about playing Deamon Targaryen in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel?
Last week, we learned that Doctor Who veteran Matt Smith was joining the cast of House of the Dragon, HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, alongside several other actors in key roles. Smith will be playing “Rogue Prince” Daemon Targaryen, the younger brother to King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine).
Daemon is one of the most prominent figures in the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war that tore Westeros over 100 years before the start of the original series. He’s known to be fierce, irritable, and a tough warrior, and some fans are already wondering if Smith is the perfect guy for the job. At the moment, I’m rather indifferent towards the casting, but as comparisons between Smith and art of his character begin to surface, I’m starting to warm to the idea.
So here we go. Matt Smith as Daemon "The Rogue Prince" Targaryen#HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/MVuESD7JpR
— Joe Magician 🧙 (@TheJoeMagician) December 11, 2020
Speaking at GalaxyCon, Smith gave his initial thoughts about playing Daemon. What is he looking forward to? “Well God, everything,” he said, although some things do stand out:
"I think it’ll be a really exciting cast. I think it’s a wonderful legacy to be part of and it’s a great part. And without saying too much, I’m just sort of looking forward to riding a few dragons…if I get to."
He’ll definitely get to. During the Dance of the Dragons, Daemon rides the dragon Caraxes, and does some pretty crazy things from his back; HBO has already released concept art of Daemon’s winged best buddy.
Unfortunately, that’s all he has to say for now. He sounds eager to get into it, though. “Who knows what goes on in this role, but yeah look – I’m just looking forward to getting started and I think, hopefully, with the people involved, it could be really exciting.”
If you haven’t read Fire & Blood yet, Matt Smith, we suggest you get on it.
Smith sounds excited about riding a dragon, but I hope he knows how difficult it can be. Take it from Emilia Clarke, who played the Mother of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen. Speaking to 60 Minutes a while back, she explained the very real and grueling task of filming a dragon scene:
Filming on House of the Dragon begins in the next couple of months. We’ve gotten a lot of news about it recently, and we can only expect even more big details moving into 2021!
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