House of the Dragon star talks Addam of Hull: What does he want, and why did Seasmoke pick him?

The smallfolk are moving up in the world! On last night's episode of House of the Dragon, "The Red Sowing," three peasants claimed dragons and joined Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen's air force: Ulf White claimed the dragon Silverwing, Hugh Hammer bonded with Vermithor, and Addam of Hull found himself the new rider of Seasmoke, the dragon previously belonging to Rhaenyra's late husband Laenor Velaryon.

At least we think it's the late Laenor Velaryon; Rhaenyra's husband ran away from royal life with his lover in the first season, but dragons usually don't take on new riders unless their previous rider has died, so we assume that Laenor died at some point offscreen. Surely it's not a coincidence that Seasmoke chose Addam of Hull, Laenor's bastard half-brother, as his new mount.

Clinton Liberty, who plays Addam, isn't sure what happened to Laenor. But he does think the family connection is important. "We’re both from technically the same family. And there’s a way that you are in the Hull/Velaryon household, and it just seeps through," he told Variety. "I feel like Seasmoke, having been bonded with Laenor previously, senses that in Addam. But he also senses this kind of person who wants to achieve these amazing things in an honest way, and not try and kill anyone. He senses the purity in Addam."

No one knows exactly why a dragon bonds with a rider, but Clinton Liberty seems pretty invested that it has something to do with the decency of the person involved. "[A]s we saw, Steffon Darklyn, he had the blood and the highborn sort of family. But Seasmoke could sense that the essence of the human wasn’t quite what Seasmoke was looking for, which made me understand, 'Oh, it’s more than just blood — it’s also the essence of who the human is.' Because if we see Laenor and Addam, yes, they both share the same blood and similar blood, but when you look at them as people, they’re actually just really good, nice, lovely human beings."

"And it’s funny to say that in a world of hard-hearted people who are trying to claim glory, win whatever the cost is. I feel like that’s also an important factor for a dragon to choose a human to bond with, because dragons are very intelligent. They know who the essence of the human is behind the facade the human’s trying to portray. So I think it’s a mixture of blood — but it’s also who this human being is."

Addam is a pure-hearted kind of guy, it's true. But I don't know if the dragons are that choosy. Vermithor bonded with Hugh Hammer, who has anger issues; and Silverwing bonded with Ulf, a career barfly. Even Addam tells a lie here and there; when he and Rhaenyra are talking on the beach, he lies and says that his father is no one of consequence, even though we know that he and his brother Alyn (Abubakar Salim) are the bastard children of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), Rhaenyra's hand. "He’s being vague, because he knows that if he answers with the wrong thing, he could literally be lit up in flames, you know? So it’s a whole new world for Addam."

Addam of Hull wants his father's approval

Corlys, however, is well aware that his bastard son has been elevated to the level of dragon-rider. They have a short conversation — possibly one of the first they've ever had — and Corlys gives his son two words of encouragement: "Well done."

It's not much, but it means the world to Addam. "Because at the core of Addam, he just wants validation from his father," Liberty said. "His whole life, he strived for that. He always wanted that relationship with his parents, and he’s never had that with his father. That’s one of the reasons why he wants to achieve so much, and tried to get Alyn to take the throne of Driftmark and have better lives — so that one day, he could be close to his father. In that scene, that’s the first time he’s even had a real conversation with his father, and that’s also the first time his father, Corlys, has ever praised him in any way. Moving forward, he’s trying to prove himself even more, so he can have more of that — because he’s yearning for that relationship."

"He just wants his family to be proud of him. He wants his people to be proud of him, if that’s the queen or his father or his brother. I think him wanting to achieve great things — and the riches and the throne and the servants — is all to show his father or his queen that “I am someone of importance. Please, just see me as a person.""

Alyn of Hull learns that his brother is a dragon-rider

Addam has an older brother: Alyn of Hull, who's also a bastard son of Corlys Velaryon. Alyn and Corlys are closer, with Corlys even making Alyn his first mate.

Alyn is the more serious and stoic of the two brothers, and Addam the more adventurous and eager to please. Alyn was clearly surprised when he learned that Addam had claimed a dragon, but we're sure he'll support his brother. "Alyn has put so much love and and power to his brother, Addam, because he’s the only person he has," said actor Abubakar Salim. "Every time that I’ve had a scene with with Clinton, we always talk — how long has it been since [Addam and Alyn] last saw each other? Where do we go from there? What do we have to catch up with and talk about?"

"This is precious time. Now that there’s a dragon in the mix, you’re like, “OK what timing is it going to be like now? Our lives are going in very interesting and different ways.” And I think that’s what’s going make everything more tense going into the finale."

We'll find out for ourselves when the House of the Dragon season 2 finale airs this upcoming Sunday, August 4.

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