Although he's only 9 years old, English actor Dexter Sol Ansell has already appeared in a goodly number of movies and TV shows, including playing a young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Now, HBO has revealed that he'll play the role of Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, a new Game of Thrones prequel show.
Based on the Dunk and Egg novellas by George R.R. Martin, The Hedge Knight follows the two main characters — the knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his diminutive squire Egg, aka Prince Aegon V Targaryen — as they travel the Seven Kingdoms helping people and having adventures. It promises to be a very different sort of show from either Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon; there are no dragons around at this time, and there isn't as much of a grand overarching plot.
Dunk will be played by Irish actor Peter Claffey. As for Egg, Dexter Sol Ansell uploaded his reaction to learning that he secured the role to his Instagram page:
It's always fun seeing people overjoyed. Congrats to Ansell! And if you're wondering why everyone is talking about him losing his hair, it's because Egg is sheared bald; that's partly where he gets his nickname. In context, going bald helps keep him from being identified as a Targaryen, since he has the family's famous silver-blonde locks. George R.R. Martin has heard that Ansell "cannot wait to shave his head." He's going to save so much time not having to sit in the wig chair.
Ansell is eagerly embracing his role as Egg, making fun use of props:
As for Dunk, he'll be played by Irish actor Peter Claffey. So far as I know he hasn't posted himself freaking out after learning the good news, but it could drop at any moment.
We don't have an exact release date as of yet for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, but smart money has it coming out sometime in 2025. Meanwhile, the second season of House of the Dragon premieres on June 16 of this year. We may have a situation where we get a new season of a Game of Thrones spinoff show every year, but not the same one.
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