Matt Smith got Targaryen advice from Emilia Clarke

Emma D’Arcy as "Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen" and Matt Smith as "Prince Daemon Targaryen" in House of the Dragon. Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO
Emma D’Arcy as "Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen" and Matt Smith as "Prince Daemon Targaryen" in House of the Dragon. Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO /
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Emilia Clarke played Daenerys Targaryen for eight seasons on Game of Thrones, taking her from a waifish child way out of her depth to a conqueror who took what was hers with fire and blood. On Game of Thrones she stood more or less alone, but HBO’s upcoming prequel series House of the Dragon is literally all about the Targaryen dynasty, with multiple actors donning platinum blonde wigs and taking to the skies above Westeros on their dragons.

One of them is Matt Smith, famous for his roles in stuff like Doctor Who and The Crown.  He’ll play Daenerys’ ancestor Daemon Targaryen, a hot-headed dragon-rider with dreams of taking the Iron Throne. Daemon and Daenerys share a few things in common, which is probably why Smith sought out Clarke’s advice back in 2020, when the two were seen hanging out in London.

Of course, that was before we knew that Smith had been cast in House of the Dragon, and the rumor at the time was that the two might be dating. Now it’s clear Smith was there for Targaryen lessons. And as he shared with Jake’s Takes, it may have mostly been about those wigs.

Emilia Clarke helped Matt Smith prepare for the wigs of House of the Dragon

“The wig. I didn’t see the wig coming every day, man,” Smith said. “I spoke to Emilia about that years ago, and she’s like, ‘God, I have to go through an hour-and-a-half every day of putting the wig on, and it’s a lot.’ But it looks really cool, so that’s something.”

"I’ve got dark hair, so you have to wear a bald cap. They have to glue that on, then they have to put the wig on, it’s just a whole sort of convoluted process."

As for the show itself, Smith is in just as much suspense as the rest of us. “I’ve not seen a single frame, so I don’t know what to expect…I didn’t watch the monitor at all, cause I couldn’t quite figure myself out in a blonde wig.”

He is really stuck on that wig. Maybe he’ll get used to it a few seasons in.

House of the Dragon premieres on HBO and HBO Max sometime this year. We still don’t know when. May we find out soon.

Next. A new illustrated edition of Fire & Blood is coming. dark

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