Tom Bennett talks Ulf White, the only character on House of the Dragon having any fun

On last night's new episode of House of the Dragon, three peasants become dragon-riders in Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen's air force: Addam of Hull claimed the dragon Seasmoke, Hugh Hammer bonded with the dragon Vermithor, and Ulf White lucked into becoming the new rider for the dragon Silverwing.

For Ulf and Hugh, it was trial by fire. Along with dozens of other low-born Targaryen bastards, they confronted the dragon Vermithor, hoping one of them would be able to bond with him. Only days ago, Ulf was living his life as a barfly in King's Landing, telling people about his alleged Targaryen parentage in exchange for drinks. When the rubber hits the road, he has second thoughts. "He’s thinking, 'A lot of these people look more Targaryen than I am,'" actor Tom Bennett told The Hollywood Reporter. "There’s a lot of people with white hair. My name is Ulf White but it’s more salt-and-pepper gray. And panic sets in. There comes a moment where you’ve been spreading this lie for the sake of a free pint of Guinness and now you have to show up and there’s a fucking big dragon there. There’s a real distinct possibility we’re all going to die and 98 percent die horrifically."

And indeed, most of the dragonseeds do die, but somehow Ulf finds Silverwing and makes it out alive. "I believe I’m gonna be set on fire and eaten," Bennett said. "And I get bumped around a bit. But what we realize is Silverwing doesn’t want to kill me. She has, for whatever reason, she’s taken a liking to me — whether it’s my smell or my Targaryen blood — and she’s toying with me like a cat would toy with a mouse. Eventually, she accepts me as her rider."

The reasons why dragons choose their riders aren't entirely clear. Seasmoke seems to like Addam because he reminds him of his previous rider, Laenor Velaryon, Addam's half-brother. Vermithor seems to find respect for Hugh after Hugh stands up to him, showing no fear. For Ulf, Silverwing just seems to be like, "Sure, why not?"

Whatever the reason, Ulf White, a peasant who spent most of his time in King's Landing drinking and telling tall tales, is now a dragonrider. "It’s huge. Ulf is the bottom of the barrel; he’s Flea Bottom through and through. He’s poor folk and the oppressed. He’s the working class man under the thumb of the ruling classes and lived with that his entire life. Suddenly, he’s sitting on a nuclear warhead. The power shift is huge. Let’s see what he does with that."

Ulf White is "one of the only characters that's just having fun"

We probably won't see the full extent of what Ulf gets up to until future seasons of House of the Dragon. For now, I appreciate that he's bringing some levity to the show. The characters on House of the Dragon tend to be dour from top to bottom, but Ulf was having a great time riding Silverwing in the skies above King's Landing. I also liked how he laughed in relief when he realized Silverwing wasn't going to flash-fry him.

"I don’t think he can believe it, and that just felt like the natural response," Bennett explained. "You think you’re going to die and there’s just a massive release of relief, and that I decided and [director Loni Peristere] liked it."

"Because, let’s be honest, he’s one of the only characters in the show who ever smiles, let alone laughs. Every time I’m on set, I tried to use that. Ulf sticks out like a sore thumb for many reasons. One of which is I’m one of the only characters that’s just having fun."

Yes, please, bring some fun to this series! Ulf is my new favorite character until further notice.

Tom Bennett once auditioned for Game of Thrones

In some ways, Bennett's career mirrors Ulf's. Bennett has been a working actor for decades, but House of the Dragon is by far his highest-profile role to date, so he's about to get a new level of notoriety. "I feel like a 10-year-old boy being on House of the Dragon," Bennett said. "It’s like a dream come true. I’ve been an actor for 20 years, but I’ve never operated on anything like this scale."

Bennett even auditioned for Game of Thrones back in the day, he thinks for season 3. "I auditioned to play a comedy guard, having a piss, and then he gets eaten by a direwolf. It was a good scene, but it was one scene, and now I’m flying a dragon. It’s a good thing I didn’t get it, because maybe now I wouldn’t be Ulf."

I'd say it worked out. We'll see what else Ulf gets up to in the House of the Dragon season 2 finale, which airs this Sunday on HBO and Max.

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