House of the Dragon: Tom Taylor's new Stark character is inspired by Sean Bean

The second season of House of the Dragon kicks off in just a few days, and when it does, Game of Thrones fans will get a treat: the introduction of Lord Cregan Stark, the first Stark with a speaking role we've seen on this prequel series so far.

Lord Cregan Stark is drawn from the pages of George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood; you'll remember that Rhaenyra Targaryen's son Jaecerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) was sent to treat with Cregan at the end of the first season. Hopefully, the young Stark lord will join Rhaenyra's cause.

Cregan is played by English actor Tom Taylor, who took inspiration for the character from Ned Stark on Game of Thrones, who was played by Sean Bean. "I did use Sean Bean a lot," Taylor told Entertainment Weekly. "For some reason, I felt like I needed to because he's Sean Bean's great, great, great, great, great-granddad. I wanted him to have the same presence because the voice tells so much. When they speak, you can hear the weight on all their shoulders."

According to Taylor, the accent might have been what won him the gig. "I think maybe if I couldn't do the accent, it wouldn't be happening. It was such an important thing to get the tone of Cregan right, so when he is speaking, it's not like a cringey speech because a lot of the wording is almost Shakespearean."

As you can see, Cregan and Jace will spend some time at the Wall, another throwback to Game of Thrones. And Cregan wields Ice, the Valyrian steel greatsword that will chop off Ned Stark's head over a century later. "There's no way you're fighting with that sword, let me tell you," Taylor said of the heavy prop.

All of this should provide a nostalgic kick for longtime fans, but Cregan isn't just here for window dressing; he has an important role to play in the story going forward, although we might not see the full extent of it for a while. In Fire & Blood, Cregan shows up during this stretch of the journey and then disappears for a while. It sounds like something similar may happen on House of the Dragon; Taylor says his season 2 appearance is "a little teaser for now."

"I'm just really keen to keep going. I've got so much I want to do with Cregan. I can just imagine it since I've stopped filming. I'm getting so many more ideas. And, yeah, I want to kill some people"

This is a show about war, so he'll probably get his wish...eventually. We'll meet Cregan when House of the Dragon season 2 premieres this Sunday, June 16, on HBO and Max.

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