House of the Dragon stars on the importance of representation on TV

Although modern authors like Tomi Adeyemi and Evan Winter are changing things, classic fantasy fiction is not known for its racial diversity. J.R.R. Tolkien set the tone for what a fantasy cast was supposed to look like with The Lord of the Rings back in the 1950s, and that stuck for awhile. The works of George R.R. Martin, for example, mostly have white casts, including his Song of Ice and Fire novels and Fire & Blood, his history of the Targaryen dynasty.

When HBO decided to adapt parts of Fire & Blood as the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, they changed things up a bit by taking the character of Corlys Velaryon — the leader of a powerful family and the richest man in Westeros — and making him a Black man, even though he's (probably) white in the book. That choice gave the show an opportunity to hire actors of color, since Corlys' children and grandchildren play a large role in the story.

Actor Steve Toussaint was "racially abused on social media" when it was announced that he was going to play Corlys. In a world where Black actor John Boyega was boycotted for appearing in a Star Wars movie and Asian actress Kelly Marie Tran was bullied off social media after appearing in The Last Jedi, this isn't surprising to hear; there was and is a racist strain within fandoms of this kind. However, the more shows like House of the Dragon give actors of color prominent roles, the more people will hopefuly realize that it's not a big deal, and the better the situation will become.

Toussaint sounded hopeful when speaking about this issue during a House of the Dragon press conference attended by Gizmodo. “I think people, if you’re used to being represented, representation doesn’t mean as much because you’re used to it," he said. "When I was a kid there would be science fiction programs, and there were very few, if any, people who look like me, look like us. Me and my friends used to joke about it: ‘This thing’s set in the future and we’re not there! What are they going to do to us?’”

"But I can’t tell you the amount of people who have contacted me—not just people of color—through social media or through letters and said how pleased they are to see this representation in this world...It is important for you to feel like you are something, that you are part of it, that you have a contribution to make. So I think it’s vital, and certainly some of you may be aware that there was some negative response when I was first announced. I have since then had people say, ‘Yeah, I was a bit dubious about you, but actually, you did a great job and well done.’ But I think we are living in a world in which everybody’s here, and I think everybody has a right to be represented. People of different races, people of different genders, gender [identities], and so forth. That is the world I think we should be striving for. There are voices out there that would argue against that, but I think those of us who want to see that world, I think history is on our side."

Toussaint's fellow cast member Bethany Antonia — who plays Corlys' granddaughter Baela Targaryen — also weighed weighed in on how important it was for people of color to be represented on a show of this size. “It was so important to me to to be in a franchise of this scale, because I didn’t get to see that when I was younger,” she said. “Not that only young people watch these kinds of shows—not at all—but when you’re that age, that’s when you start to develop what your dreams are going to be and what your aspirations are going to be. And if you [don’t] see it, you can’t believe it."

"I really wanted to be in something like this, so that there were people who had somebody to dress up like ... I know that might sound really basic, but those are the things that you get to enjoy when you’re in these kinds of fandoms, and it’s one privilege that we just didn’t have. We didn’t have anybody to dress up like! It’s a thing of joy that you get to do, when you go to these conventions and things. Even if just one person gets to see it and go, ‘Wow, that’s somebody who’s like me,’ it was worth it."

Both Toussaint and Antonia will return as Corlys and Baela when the second season of House of the Dragon premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16.

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