For any actor, entering the world of Game of Thrones comes with a certain level of pressure.
Whether you’re like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms star Peter Claffey and consider yourself part of the fandom, or if you’d somehow avoided watching the franchise prior to joining it like House of the Dragon’s Ewan Mitchell, you know what a huge deal this world is. No matter the actor’s expertise level in George R.R. Martin’s works, this fanbase has—as it should—high expectations from the cast and crew.
And though this is (usually) coming from a good place of passion and love, it can also become intense for the actors as they try not to compare themselves to previous actors of Game of Thrones or what fans had been imagining in their heads for years. For actor Tom Glynn-Carney, who plays Aegon Targaryen on House of the Dragon, navigating this pressure comes with an intentional strategy.
How Tom Glynn-Carney navigates such a huge franchise
During a recent appearance on the Before The Lights podcast, Glynn-Carney discussed the sheer scale of House of the Dragon, which returns with its third season this June. Acknowledging that each episode is “like a movie in itself,” he admitted being on set for the first time was “intense.” And it’s not just the big-budget production that intimidated him, but also the expectations from the fans who have read Fire & Blood.
When asked if the experience was “daunting,” Glynn-Carney admitted that it was “at first,” mentioning not only the number of people involved but also “what it means to the fans as well.”
“I eventually just ended up making a pact with myself,” the actor shared, “being like, ‘Okay, well whatever people think it is, that’s fine. But they’re not doing it. I am. So it has to be down to what I think it is, and if they’re on board with it, happy days. If they’re not, I apologize.’”
The 31-year-old English actor also spoke on the thrill of taking on roles like this one, saying he only wants to accept parts that “terrify” him.
“It makes you push yourself out of your comfort zone,” he explained.
As we’re sure House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal and the writers might agree with, it’s almost more difficult pleasing fans when adapting a book like Fire & Blood, which is written more like a text book than a novel. Serving as a history book on House Targaryen, it goes through events quickly, with a lot of room for interpretation. So a reader might interpret something one way, while the show interprets it in another.
Book changes have been one of the major gripes from fans when it comes to House of the Dragon, as even though there is room for interpretation, the show has also explicitly gone against what’s written in Fire & Blood. At this point, many viewers have had to accept that this is how the show is going to be, finding entertainment in what it’s given us. But others just aren’t ready to do that yet.
He might not be worrying too much about pleasing others, but Glynn-Carney’s performance has been applauded by the fandom. We’re excited to see what’s in store for him come season 3.
House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, June 21.
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