Jonny Weldon joins cast of House of the Dragon as “Samwell”

We already know who’s playing some of the bigger roles on HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon: Matt Smith is Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke is Alicent Hightower, etc. But just as with Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon has lots of smaller players, and any good adaptation to need to pay attention to them as well.

For instance, we just learned that David Horovitch will be joining the cast as (maybe) Lord Lyman Beesbury. And now, Redditors have uncovered that English actor Jonny Weldon will be playing a character named “Samwell,” as detailed on his Spotlight page.

There’s no relation to Samwell Tarly from Game of Thrones here. The only Samwell we can think of who might have a role in House of the Dragon is Samwell Blackwood, the head of House Blackwood in the Riverlands when the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons breaks out. House of the Dragon concerns itself mainly with this conflict, which played out well over 100 years before the original series: on one side you have Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), who intends to sit the Iron Throne after the death of her father King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine). But there are others — like King Viserys’ second wife Alicent Hightower — who think that Viserys’ son Aegon should take the throne, even though he’s younger than Rhaenyra.

Houses from all over Westeros declare for one side or the other. Samwell Blackwood, who once fought (and lost) a duel for Rhaenyra’s favor when they were younger, declares for Rhaenyra, and quickly sets about battling House Bracken, House Blackwood’s ancient rival. Samwell’s son Benjicot and sister Alysanne have even bigger roles in the story than Samwell, but we don’t know who (if anyone) is playing them yet.

What role will Jonny Weldon have in House of the Dragon?

In fact, Samwell’s role in the story is pretty minor; I think it’s a good sign that he’s being cast at all, since it demonstrates that showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik are paying attention to details.

I also wonder if Weldon, who has a boyish look to him and stands all of 5’4″, might be playing a younger version of Samwell — maybe they’re fixing to show us that duel for Rhaenyra’s favor. We know that they’ve cast younger versions of both Rhaenyra and Alicent, to be played by Miley Alcock and Emily Carey respectively. How deep will that go?

House of the Dragon premieres on HBO sometime in 2022.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels