House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal offers a key logistical reason for the show's diversity. The fantasy series, based on the book Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin, acts as a prequel to Game of Thrones, following the events surrounding a devastating Targaryen civil war. Since the series is set almost two centuries before Game of Thrones, there are many differences in the world the show inhabits. For example, House of the Dragon naturally features many more dragons and Targaryens than Game of Thrones, as well as including House Velaryon, which has also fallen by the time the original series picks up.
House of the Dragon also features more diversity than Game of Thrones, casting Black actors to portray the prominent Velaryon family line, led in the first seven episodes by Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon. Though House of the Dragon has made many updates to its source material, changes that Martin himself has expressed approval of, the series encountered racist backlash for casting Black actors as the Velaryons. However, the source material does not explicitly mention Corlys' skin color, making the complaints moot. Of course, the critics still exist, and Condal has since come forward to provide a key reason for the show's diversity.
While speaking with TheWrap in an interview for TheGrill, Condal addresses the series' diversity, saying the casting was never done "to tick a box or to be seen as progressive." The showrunner points to the series' diverse audience, which deserved to be represented, as one reason for their casting choices. Condal also cites a common argument in favor of diversity in fantasy stories, stating that "if we believe in dragons, and shapeshifters and direwolves, we can believe everybody in the story is not white.” He also points out Martin's own thoughts on the Velaryons' heritage, stating that, "it always stuck with me, this article where George had talked about when he set out to write these books, considering making all of the Velaryons Black, and Black people with silver hair, that always really stuck with me as an image.” Finally, he offers a logistical reason for the change as well, explaining that the actors looking different in the show makes the family lines easier to follow:
To me, I mean, I don’t even really think about it anymore. There are so many Valerians in the show, having the Velaryon family, having the Sea Snake’s family, look different than the Targaryens is actually really helpful in the casting and in differentiating people on screen and remembering who’s from what house and maybe making it even clearer that Rhaenyra has children of questionable parentage. I think there are a lot of visual benefits that come along with it, and because Corlys has such a rich and diverse family line himself, just simply making that one turn on him to cast Steve Toussaint, his entire family then becomes a diverse cast and it’s a really interesting way to populate the show with a bunch of different faces that you may or may not have seen in another high fantasy show or in the original series.
House of the Dragon Has Benefited From Using A Diverse Cast
Condal's point is even more relevant considering some recent complaints about House of the Dragon's many time jumps being disorienting. With a complex plot covering decades and huge ensemble cast to follow, it's important the series makes clear who belongs to which family, something that becomes even more pressing due to the various incestuous relationships. Additionally, setting the Velaryons apart from the Targaryens validates Alicent's (Olivia Cooke) suspicions about Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) children, as Condal mentions, and creates a ripple effect that allows for rich representation in the fantasy series.
Outside the practical and visual reasons to populate the series with a diverse cast, House of the Dragon includes Black actors simply because fantasy worlds do not exist exclusively for white audiences, as Condal also mentions. Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has faced racist backlash due to its casting choices as well, proving that there is still work to be done in terms of the genre becoming more inclusive. With House of the Dragon featuring powerful, stirring performances from its Black leads and garnering plenty of success, hopefully other properties will continue the push to further diversify fantasy stories.
Source: TheWrap