Raised by Wolves veteran Abubakar Salim is one of a great many new actors joining the cast of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon in its second season. He plays Alyn of Hull, a peasant living on the isle of Driftmark, the seat of House Velaryon. We won't give away spoilers here, but Alyn has a long, interesting journey of him now that war has broken out between Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon Targaryen.
Rhaenyra and Aegon are played by Emma D'Arcy and Tom Glynn-Carney respectively, both part of a well-established cast that's about to grow much bigger. "Everyone has been so welcoming and so open to sharing and play," Salim said about joining the show during an episode of Beyond the Trailer. "This job has been sensational, honestly."
When it came to teasing the general shape of the second season, Salim was careful to spoil as little as possible, but still promised viewers a good time. "I think it gives you more of everything," he said. "With season 1 now done...season 2 is there to essentially allow you to play, and allow you to show you even more emotion, more drama, more sense of political angst...It's going to be a very wild season."
"Wild" is also how fellow House of the Dragon newcomer Gayle Rankin described her role as Alys Rivers. With the Seven Kingdoms now at war over which of two contenders for the Iron Throne to support, I believe them both.
The second season of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16. There will be eight episodes, down from 10 in the first season but still enough to keep fans well-fed for two months.
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