Steve Toussaint reflects on House of the Dragon success in PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive issue

For 40 years, PEOPLE magazine has been naming the Sexiest Man Alive, an opinion with the force of tradition and therefore fact. This year, the magazine has named The Office alum John Krasinski, but PEOPLE doesn't stop there; it actually names 100 sexy men, but doesn't rank them, since that might be a bit gauche. You're all the second sexiest man alive, guys. Don't overthink it.

Anyone, PEOPLE has designated House of the Dragon star Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) as one of these sexy men, and interviewed him about the show. Overall, the 59-year-old actor seems beyond grateful to be working on the Game of Thrones prequel series. "You get to work with people that you have seen and admired, like for example Eve Best who plays my wife. We just became such good friends and she’s just a great actress and a great person to work with, but suddenly there’s Paddy Considine, there’s Matt Smith and I know who they are and they are really lovely people. I think that’s it, that feeling when you get up in the morning and go, ‘Oh yeah I’ve got to go to work with these great people,’ that’s been the joy of it."

Toussaint is so high on the experience, he doesn't even have any complaint about the show's famously elaborate wigs. "So most of the people who have to wear wigs, they have to spend a long time in the chair," he said. "If you were going to wear a wig they would have to plait your hair first, put a bald cap on and then they put the wig on. But I’ve already got a bald head and the beard is my own! I’m always wary of actors saying, 'Oh that was so difficult,' but in the scheme of things... we’re not going down mines."

Steve Toussaint remembers early, racist reactions to his casting on House of the Dragon

That said, when House of the Dragon began, Toussaint did experience some negative reactions from fans who were scandalized that a Black man would play a character as prominent as Corlys Velaryon, a descendant of the Valyrian Freehold and the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms during the time the show is set. Obviously, that wasn't pleasant. "I said that people had abused me and then people said 'Stop looking for racism where there isn’t any.' And I’m like, if you call me [the N-word], I think that’s racist, I kind of do," Toussaint remembered. "I am not an expert on it but I am used to having lived with it my whole life."

"Idris Elba is a friend of mine and when he joined the Marvel universe, he received some of that. I worked with John Boyega and when he was the first face you saw in the reboot of Star Wars, he received some of that. The black [Little Mermaid], the Lord of the Rings TV thing.. it’s there."

Happily, once House of the Dragon started up in 2022 and people actually saw what Toussaint brought to the table, the racist criticism faded into the background. "What has been great is that when the show came out, the response has been great and very positive. I have actually had comments on social media from people saying they were dubious, but saying, 'I love what you did.'"

"If you watched it and didn’t like it, that’s fine, that’s your prerogative but like I said there are shows that I have watched and I don’t particularly like, I just don’t feel the need to go on social media and attack the person in them. As we’ve been going around the world promoting it, it’s been all love and positivity, I’m so happy to be a part of it."

Steve Toussaint is grateful he joined House of the Dragon when he did

You just can't suppress Toussaint's enthusiasm. After a long career in the performing arts, he seems to have found a nice equilibrium, although he wonders if he would have reacted the same way had he gotten this gig as a much younger man, back when he was more vulnerable to the trappings of fame. "I’m just a guy that’s in that show. I don’t feel famous," he said. "I like being able to do my job and go home."

"To be in one of the biggest shows in the world at this stage in my journey is perfect for me because I’ve been around the block a few times. Had this happened to me at 21 or 22, I might have been a horrendous person. I have seen the people who have gone up there and come back down again. I’m just enjoying the ride while it lasts."

House of the Dragon will last two more seasons before wrapping up. The third season is underway and will probably come out sometime in 2026.

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