House of the Dragon star responds to racist backlash

We’re just under two weeks away from the premiere of House of the Dragon, HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show. The new show is set some 200 years before the original series, and while there’s plenty that will be familiar, this is a different Westeros. There are a lot more dragons, for one thing; this is back before they all died out, when the Targaryens were at the height of their power. House of the Dragon will also feature a lot more people of color in prominent roles than did Game of Thrones.

Namely, we’re going to get introduced to the people of House Velaryon, which we didn’t see at all during Game of Thrones but which plays a huge role in this time period. Showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik decided to cast Black actors as the Velaryon family members, starting with Steve Toussaint as patriarch Corlys Velaryon.

“The world is very different now than it was 10 years ago when [Game of Thrones] all started,” Condal recently told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s different than 20 years ago when Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings. These types of stories need to be more inclusive than they traditionally have been. It was very important for Miguel and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen, just to put it very bluntly.”

House of the Dragon was “very brave” to cast a Black man as the richest guy in Westeros

Toussaint himself addressed some of these issues on the most recent episode of HBO’s official House of the Dragon podcast. “I’m very glad between the discussions between Ryan, Miguel and [Fire & Blood author] George R.R. Martin, they decided to put some color in,” he said.

Game of Thrones was criticized for its lack of diversity, with Toussaint noting that while he had friends of color who starred in the show, they tended to play “pirates and robbers and slaves.” Fast forward to House of the Dragon, and the producers are making an effort to improve things. “So for them to then decide that, well, the richest man to be a man of color, I thought that was a very brave thing.”

Predictably, the show and Toussaint have received their fair share of racist backlash for these choices, but at least Toussaint seems to not be taking it too seriously. “There were some people who were not quite so keen on people who look like me playing this part, which was a little bit annoying because it’s a big enough task as it is without having to deal with that stuff,” he said.

"Listen, I’m not an expert on racism but I’m very experienced in receiving it so I kind of thought, well, haters gonna hate. I’m just gonna get on and do my thing."

It’s definitely encouraging to see HBO making efforts to be meaningfully inclusive; not only is Corlys Velaryon played by a person of color, but so are many of his family members, many of whom have prominent parts to play in this story.

We’ll see Corlys in action when House of the Dragon premieres on HBO and HBO Max on August 21.

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