It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Harry Collett playing the role of Jacaerys Velaryon. Collett brilliantly brought the eldest son of Rhaenyra Targaryen to life during his time in Westeros on HBO’s House of the Dragon, becoming a favorite among fans with his charming looks and a face card that never declines, which is perhaps why it’s so surprising to learn that Collett questioned whether he had the right look for the character when he found out who he was auditioning to play.
Like most things in the world of Westeros, when Collett went out for the part for Jace, he did so not knowing that it was a Game of Thrones prequel series and submitted a self-tape that caught the attention of the producers. They liked what they saw in the submission, and Collett went in for a proper in-person audition, which was when he realized the role he was going out for was that of a young prince in a Game of Thrones spin-off.
Upon learning the specifics of the role, Collett admits he thought he would never get the part, telling GQ that he was convinced the role would go to someone with more prince-like looks, such as the more muscly men in the waiting room.
“I found out the role was for a prince in a Game of Thrones spin-off. So then I just—excuse my French—shit myself because I was like, ‘This is mental! I’m never gonna get this.’ I saw some lads in the waiting room. They all had really long hair [and were] super muscly—just looked like princes, you know? At that time, I had the proper Essex cut with the short back and sides; I was smaller than I am now.”
When the time came for Collett to audition in front of a group of roughly 50 producers, directors, and crew members, he was feeling the pressure. As part of the process, he recalled how they had him perform a scene a number of times and he began to grow so flustered he was messing up his lines. In his words, things went so poorly that he truly did not expect to ever land the role.
“I get flustered in big situations like that – it took me so long to pass my driving test because of the nerves – someone sitting there and looking at me with a clipboard,” he says. He sips his purple cider. “I did a good scene, then they kept asking me to do it again, but then I was completely fluffing my lines. I remember ringing my mum. I said, ‘I haven’t got this, but I’ve tried my best.’”
It’s hard to know just how chaotic Collett’s audition truly was, as we’re always our toughest critics, and Collett likely was harder on his performance than anyone else in the room. However, clearly, those producers, directors, and crew members saw something special in him, and their instincts were spot on, as Collett proved to be the perfect actor to bring Jace to life in the series.
Collett delivered so many standout moments throughout his three seasons on the show, and his death in the season 3 premiere ranks as one of the show’s most heartbreaking moments. While the circumstances most certainly factored into the heartbreak we felt, that pain was only as strong as it was because fans had fallen in love with the character of Jace through the years thanks to Collett’s performance.
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