Matt Smith elaborates on his previous comments about the sex scenes in House of the Dragon. Set two centuries before the events in Game of Thrones, the upcoming prequel show loosely adapts portions of Martin's 2018 book Fire & Blood, charting the story of House Targaryen and its eventual collapse during the infamous succession war, "Dance of the Dragons." House of the Dragon features a stellar ensemble that includes Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Although one character that conceivably stands out among all others is Prince Daemon Targaryen, the Iron Throne's presumptive heir, played by The Crown's Smith.

Recently, while discussing his character in the show, Smith remarked that he questioned the number of sex scenes for Daemon in House of the Dragon. He suggested that the intercourse clips were "slightly too much," leading him to wonder if the creators were simply honoring Martin's work or increasing the frequency deliberately to service modern audiences. His hesitation did not go unnoticed by fans, some of whom criticized the show's handling of intimacy on social media.

Related: Which Game Of Thrones Episodes To Rewatch Before House Of The Dragon

Now, Smith clarifies his House of the Dragon sex scenes comment in a roundtable interview attended by Screen Rant. The actor suggests he was hesitant to film some of the sensual parts in the show, but his co-star Mizuno and the intimacy coordinator helped him out. He also adds that the scenes were a faithful adaptation of Martin's novel. Read what he says below:

I don't know, really. No one likes doing sex scenes. They feel quite exposing, do you know what I mean? But luckily, Sonoya [Mizuno], who plays Mysaria, was just really wonderful. We had an intimacy coordinator, and that all felt quite good and safe and stuff. Do I love that scene? I don't know; I have a question mark against it. But that's the world that we're representing. That's the world that George has written. That is the world of House of the Dragon. And we're trying to represent the books as truthfully as possible.

Despite the clarification, it's still quite clear that Smith wasn't wholly comfortable filming sex scenes for House of the Dragon. Of course, the support of an understanding colleague made him feel safer and a bit more relaxed, but he continued questioning whether the explicit intimacy was justified. However, he thinks that the sex in House of the Dragon is not excessive and unwarranted, a but a just representation of Martin's literature. The scenes are being enacted accordingly, so loyalists shouldn't feel that the show fails the no-holds-barred tone of its source material.

Since some TV shows tend to sell sex, sometimes it's hard not to feel that a scene is being forced or doesn't serve the plot. This was arguably a persistent issue with Game of Thrones, but hopefully House of the Dragon will make amends and break that trend. The presence of an intimacy coordinator is also reassuring, as with a specialist overseeing the graphic content, it's less likely that the show will get those scenes wrong. As Smith points out, all actors are reluctant to do sex scenes, so filmmakers must take their feelings into consideration and prioritize the safety of the stars and their rights at all times. That said, hopefully House of the Dragon will avoid gratuitous lovemaking, thereby setting an example for other projects to follow.

Next: House Of The Dragon Proves The Issue With Game Of Thrones' Bran Choice