Have you heard of method acting? That’s when actors stay in character even when the cameras aren’t rolling, the better to preserve their performance. That’s opposed to a non-method actor, who becomes the characters when the director yells “action!” and then becomes their normal self again when they yell “cut.”
It sounds like we may have a method actor on the set of House of the Dragon, or at least someone who matches the intensity of their character: in a recent interview with The Face, Ewan Mitchell — who plays the one-eyed dragon-rider Aemond Targaryen on HBO’s show — came off as someone very dedicated to their craft, with a focus and seriousness that would make Aemond proud.
For instance, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal remembered a moment when the cast were gathered in a tent winding down from a scene. “I went around the corner and saw Ewan in the corner with his sword, practicing. That to me felt very Aemond. He’s always working on improving his skills. He’s not taking coffee breaks.”
House of the Dragon: Aemond Targaryen “idolizes” Daemon
Mitchell had lots of ideas for how to approach his scenes. Take the family dinner in Episode 8 where Aemond pokes the bear by calling his nephews “strong.” A fight breaks out, and Aemond stares down his uncle Daemon. The moment is intense, although no blood is shed…yet.
Mitchell approached this scene very deliberately. “I did something on Dragon that was the first choice I made on my first day. I said to Ryan: ‘I’ve got this idea of avoiding Matt Smith and [even] avoiding eye contact.’”
"Because there’s this moment in episode eight where we have that intense stare-down. I thought there was something in experimenting and saving that moment for then. Aemond idolises Daemon, and this is the first time that he makes any sort of contact with him. Their family tree is actually a circle!"
To that end, Mitchell avoided even having lunch with Smith. “I just wanted to keep that separation, so that I never saw Matt and I only ever saw Daemon.” That’s not quite method (which is good, because if Mitchell went full method with Aemond he might kill a PA or something), but it’s in the ballpark.
Fan reaction “means the world” to House of the Dragon star Ewan Mitchell
Mitchell made a big impact when he debuted as the older version of Aemond in Episode 8, both onscreen and off. “It definitely felt like Ewan’s arrival on the show was a seismic hit,” Condal said. “He’s come in with a bunch of young actors who are going to play these characters, then take over for the rest of the series. It’s a murderer’s row of great young British acting talent. But [the] Game of Thrones [universe] loves its villains. In a first season where we don’t have [characters like] The Mountain or a Ramsay Bolton right out of the gate, his arrival stoked those fires in the fanbase.”
As for Mitchell, he seems to be enjoying his new notoriety, and of course, takes it seriously. “That means the world to me,” he said of The Face naming him a breakout star, “and so does fan reaction.”
So far so good. House of the Dragon season 2 is due out on HBO and HBO Max sometime in 2024.
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