House of the Dragon star compares Aegon II to King Joffrey

This past weekend, fans gathered for the Game of Thrones Official Fan Convention in Los Angeles, and were treated to some very special sights. How do you beat Paddy Considine, aka King Viserys I Targaryen, hanging out with Kit Harington, who played Viserys’ ancestor Jon Snow?

Well, how about pairing Jack Gleeson, who played the loathsome King Joffrey Baratheon on Game of Thrones, with Tom Glynn-Carney, who plays the newly crowned King Aegon II Targaryen on House of the Dragon? Between Joffrey shooting people with crossbows for fun and Aegon assaulting serving girls, neither king has the best reputation, and Glynn-Carney has seen the comparisons. “There’s been a couple of comments thrown about on social media, but I don’t pay attention to them,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a compliment to me, if anything, that I’m doing my job, and it’s having the impact that is required.”

That said, Glynn-Carney does get the comparisons, even if he thinks there’s more to it. “They’re unlikable,” he said. “They’re tortured and have deep, deep issues, which is a lot of fun to play as an actor, but I also see [Aegon] as being incredibly complex. He’s not an out-and-out psychopath. I’m not saying Joffrey is, but I see a multilayered character that just has endless potential of pits of vulnerability and empathy and things that we don’t see that I think it’s important to have at least a flavor of, because it brings the humanity to him, and that’s what pulls people in two separate directions.”

Eh, I don’t think Glynn-Carney would get much pushback if he called Joffrey an out-and-out psychopath. Given any choice, you could always depend on Joffrey to choose the cruelest, bloodiest one. Having seen Aegon grow up, there’s more of a sense that he’s been warped by the pressures put on him, loathsome as his behavior is. Maybe he could be pulled back? But now that he’s king, albeit reluctantly, it’s anybody’s guess.

Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon II Targaryen) will have a lot more to do in House of the Dragon season 2

“In one of the first meetings I had with [showrunners Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal], we spoke about Aegon and his unpredictability,” Glynn-Carey remembered. “I was saying that I really wanted to have him teeing on the edge the entire time. The coin could flip onto any side, and we should never know which way it’s gonna go. People will make their own decisions, but I just want to keep that kind of center of gravity.”

Glynn-Carney only played Aegon for three episodes in House of the Dragon season 1, but he’ll be there for the entire stretch of season 2 and beyond. Glynn-Carney is looking forward to exploring “the constant battle” within Aegon “between vulnerability and his darkness.”

"I think one breeds the other. I think it’s his vulnerability that breeds the darkness. It’s the way he copes, it’s his security, it’s his safety blanket, it’s an addictive coping mechanism for him to shut things out and to be cold. I wanna push that further, and I want to see where we can take him."

Unfortunately, we likely won’t get to see what looks like before 2024.

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