House of the Dragon star Tom Bennett fears power may go to new dragonrider Ulf's head

The recent episodes of House of the Dragon have introduced us to a trio of new dragonriders, all of them commoners who suddenly find themselves in control of the medieval equivalent of nuclear warheads. One of these newcomers is Ulf White (Tom Bennett), a cheery drunk from King's Landing who for years used stories about his Targaryen bastardy to get people to buy him pints. And now he has a dragon.

He's also my favorite new character to be introduced this season, in large part because he actually seems like he's enjoying himself, a rarity on a show where everyone is dour and severe. "I’d be surprised if I wasn’t the first character to ever smile inHouse of the Dragon, let alone have a laugh and be a lovable rogue and a jolly chap," Bennett told Vulture. "It’s lovely to give voice to commoners, to smallfolk, and to get to use my own South London accent and be a character who does laugh. And Ulf is self-serving, like lots of the highborn are, but in a way we haven’t seen yet."

"He’s a bit of world-building from the perspective of a Flea Bottom resident. Ulf is used as a tool to show what it’s like, boots on the floor — to be hungry, to be starving, to be shat on from a great height by those in power."

Speaking of being shat on, Ulf also rolled through a river of dragon excretions just before the dragon Silverwing accepted him as her new rider, something Bennett thinks might have helped him get the job. "I think the fact that my scent is masked by a pungent aroma of dragon piss and shit that I roll around in before I meet her helps...There’s a lot of luck involved in what Ulf does."

Ulf presses that luck further when he takes Silverwing for a joyride over King's Landing, laughing and whooping the whole time. That's in contrast to another new dragonrider, Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), who has lost a child, effectively broken up with his wife, and seems to tempt death before the dragon Vermithor chooses him as his new rider.

"We’re both lower-born," Bennett says of the connection between Ulf and Hugh. "We’re both from Flea Bottom. We both come from nothing and don’t have much. One of the big differences is that Ulf doesn’t take things quite as seriously as Hugh has to as a father and a husband. I love getting to do scenes with Kieran. I love getting to have fun in a way that other actors on House of the Dragon don’t. Oh, you bastard. Why are you allowed to do that and I’m not? Well, I’m Ulf, and you’re not."

Thank the gods for Ulf White, the only character on House of the Dragon who's enjoying themselves

But how long will Ulf remain a "lovable prick," as Bennett puts it? The actors suspects that power migkht go to Ulf's head. "Ulf looks out for himself," Bennett said. "The fact that he’s been trodden on and spat on his whole life and now he is in control of a nuclear warhead. We will see what that power does to him. You know, power corrupts completely, and I think power will corrupt Ulf."

If you've read George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, as White has, you know there's some truth to Bennett's words, but with only one more episode to go until the end of the second season, we'll probably have to wait until season 3 or beyond to see it come to pass.

In the meantime, we just get to enjoy how much Tom Bennett is enjoying the role; reading this interview, you definitely get the idea that he's a naturally funny, quippy guy, and that this has informed the way Ulf is written and performed. Take his treatise on all the similar-sounding names on the show, for instance: "Everyone’s name is the same. The pronunciation differences are so tiny — infinitesimally small. I had a three-page monologue, and it’s all names: Jaehaerys, Viserys, Rhaenyra, Valyrian, Velaryon. I’d get to the end of that monologue, and the speech coach would come over and say, ‘You’re saying Valyrian, and actually the house is Velaryonand they speak High Valyrian.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my god, let’s do it again then.’”

Or here's him imagining Ulf talking with Hugh after Ulf gets back from his flyby over King's Landing:

"Did you know they’ve got great big fucking crossbows? Because they were shooting at me!” And then Hugh goes, “Oh yeah, I built those.” “Well, you should have mentioned that then, shouldn’t you, you prick?! They were shooting them at me and then the one with one eye and the massive dragon started chasing me!"

I hope Ulf and White stick around for a long time. We'll see a bit more of him in the House of the Dragon season 2 finale, which airs this Sunday night on HBO and Max.

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