House of the Dragon fans will be very aware of Fabien Frankel thanks to his portrayal of Ser Criston Cole, who's perhaps one of the most love-to-hate characters in television history. He's hypocritical, manipulative, and cruel, and that merely scratches the surface. Frankel will return to our screens as Criston Cole in House of the Dragon season 3 in 2026, but not before being honoured at GQ's Men of the Year awards.
The 2025 GQ Men of the Year awards is chock-full of glittering celebrites, from Travis Tillman, to Tom Hiddleston, to James Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan. Everyone involved is in esteemed company, but for House of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel, there's more than a hint of imposter syndrome.
“I always feel a bit of imposter syndrome when I see some of the names I’m up against,” Frankel said of the news, per GQ. “You feel like you don’t really understand how you’ve ended up there. But I guess a very good publicist will do it!”
The annual event has big names at every turn, but there's one that Frankel is particularly star-struck over: “Pierce Brosnan is in there. That’s pretty wild! That’s my Bond that I grew up with.”
While the imposter syndome may well have taken over, at least he hasn't (yet) made a fool of himself. The impression he made back in 2022 has stuck in his memory for all the wrong reasons. “We arrived through the wrong entrance, on foot, and then finally got in and everyone was already sat down. Someone was in the middle of a speech,” the actor recalled. "I’d made the mistake of telling this lovely [make-up] lady, ‘Oh, I’ve been in Budapest filming this film. I feel like maybe I could use a bit more colour.’ I literally am orange. I’m an Oompa-Loompa. So that’s my memory. There are photos that I would tend not to want to look at.”
That's another level of self-sabotage. But at least it's a funny story, right?
Criston Cole has a lot coming his way in House of the Dragon season 3. We're not going to spoil anything... however, Frankel's character won't be able to stay out of the headlines. The new season arrives in Summer 2026. Before then, HBO will debut a new Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, in January. Prepare yourselves for the franchise's most prolific year yet.