Matt Smith says Daemon Targaryen is "weaker," softer in House of the Dragon season 2

Daemon Targaryen was the breakout character of the first season of House of the Dragon, HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series. He's unpredictable, violent, and ambitious, close to ultimate power in the form of the Iron Throne but never able to actually sit the thing, first because his brother King Viserys already occupies the seat and later because his niece and wife Rhaenyra is determined to inherit it. He's a pillar of strength, but also a slave to his passions, and a thrilling character to watch. “You never really know which way he’s going to go,” Smith said of Daemon while talking to Variety. “I always viewed him as an agent of chaos...He’d probably make a terrible king."

But it was never a guarantee that Smith would end up playing this role, and he was hesitant going in given that Game of Thrones was already a cultural phenomenon. How do you top that? “My concern is that we’ve seen this story told,” Smith recalls telling showrunner Ryan Condal when they first started to talk about the project.

For his part, it sounds like Condal wanted Smith for the role of Daemon very early on, ever since he watched Smith's performance as Prince Philip on The Crown, where he played another mercurial royal who was close to power but not in the center. “He’s playing second fiddle, in that case, to his wife," Condal said. "In this case, it’s first to his brother, then to his niece, then to his wife.”

Obviously, Smith ultimately decided to take the part. But his doubts persisted. "You’re never going to create the moment in time that Game of Thrones was — the love and affection and scale of that show. It’s never going to be that, because it was a moment in time," Smith said. “With the scale of it, there was a genuine concern: Will audiences even want it?” They very much did. House of the Dragon became a huge hit for HBO in its first season, proving there was still a lot of life in the Game of Thrones franchise. Now it's time to prepare for season 2.

Daemon and Rhaenyra will spend less time together in House of the Dragon season 2

The first season of House of the Dragon covered a period of around 20 years, with plentiful time jumps in between episodes as characters grew up, died, got married, and eventually turned against each other. The second season will dig into a war between rival factions of the Targaryen dynasty, with Daemon's wife Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) battling her younger half-brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) for the Iron Throne.

This season will do away with time jumps, but we will see characters travel a lot more. Daemon will go to the castle of Harrenhal to set up a military base of operations on behalf of his wife Queen Rhaenyra, which means fewer scenes between him and Emma D'Arcy. “It was kind of rubbish!” D'Arcy said of the separation. “The man has incredibly high standards, so you at least have a chance of the work being satisfying. I have petitioned for more time next season.”

Instead, Smith spend a lot of time with actor Simon Russell Beale, who plays Ser Simon Strong, the castellan of Harrenhal. He loved working with Beale, but missed his scenes with D'Arcy. “It was difficult to do it without them because I love them — a person of real depth and sardonic humor and fierce intellect,” he said.

How will Daemon be "weaker" in House of the Dragon season 2?

We know some of the things Daemon will get up to in season 2, including taking a brutal act of revenge for the death of his step-son Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), who was killed by King Aegon's brother Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) in the season 1 finale. But despite having a war out in front of him to fight, it sounds like Daemon will have something of a dark night of the soul in season 2. “We definitely meet Daemon at a point of crisis in this situation, and in many ways, it’s a different version of him,” Smith said. “It’s one that’s much weaker.”

"In his perverse way — and it is deeply perverse — Daemon thinks he’s doing the right thing. And sometimes he’s just doing it because he likes that feeling of being the black sheep. We start to see the mask slip. Life becomes more difficult, and he gets soft around the edges. He starts to unravel."

As someone who's read the source material for House of the Dragon, the book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin, I have a hard time making sense of the idea that Daemon might seem weaker and softer in season 2. Now that the Dance of the Dragons war has begun, in many ways he's in his element.

But maybe the fact that he's fighting on behalf of his wife and queen finally drives home the fact that he's probably never going to sit the Iron Throne himself; we saw hints of tension on that score in a recent trailer. It also sounds like he'll do some soul-searching while wandering the cursed castle of Harrenhal.

But the details are up in the air. We'll find out the particulars when House of the Dragon season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.