Matt Smith has described his character in the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, House of The Dragon, as “dark and disturbed.” The actor will be portraying Prince Daemon Targaryen in HBO’s upcoming series, which is scheduled to premiere in 2022. The new series will be based on George R R Martin’s 2018 novel Fire and Blood, which recounted House Targaryen’s fall from power.
The series will predate the events of the hugely successful Game of Thrones which ran from 2011 to 2019 over the course of eight seasons, fleshing out the backstory of the pivotal Targaryen’s. The first House of the Dragon trailer was released in October, revealing that the new series will contain the signature combat, violence, and drama that Game of Thrones became famous for. Smith will star in the prequel alongside a cast of mainly British actors, including Paddy Considine, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans, and Olivia Cooke.
Now, in a clip from Joshua Horowitz’s podcast Sad Happy Confused, the actor has shed more light on the series and the role he’ll be playing. Smith described his character as “interesting… and disturbed,” and revealed that his dragon, Caraxes, was like a very angry pet dog. When asked if there was pressure in trying to live up to Game of Thrones, Smith gave a thoughtful response admitting that it would be “impossible for [House of the Dragon] to succeed in the way [Game of Thrones] did.” Check out Smith’s full comments below:
It's a good part, it's an interesting and dark and disturbed part to play, and I thought ‘oh you know, it'll be interesting to try on a blonde wig and fly some on dragons and get involved in some swordfights’...[My] dragon’s big and red and angry. He’s a really angry dragon. Mine’s the angriest of all the dragons. There is no angrier dragon, he's a real moody bastard!...[My dragon’s] sort of like my dog, you want him with some pep and personality don’t you...Obviously it's impossible for this show to ever really succeed in the way [Game of Thrones] did. [Game of Thrones] became a cultural phenomenon for many people, and it's never ever going to quite scale those heights in the same way, because that was its own unique thing. Whether people are ready to receive it or not - who knows! You never know. But we make it in earnest, and we try our best to deliver something that is an entertaining world with dragons and sword fights.
Having previously played the leading Timelord in Doctor Who and Prince Philip in The Crown, Smith is no stranger to taking part in ambitious and challenging projects. However, the actor’s comments make it clear that House of the Dragon will be battling against its own fans' expectations in order to succeed. Game of Thrones managed to define a decade of television and has been credited with audiences’ renewed interest in the fantasy genre. The franchise’s reputation means that although House of the Dragon already has a global ready-made fanbase, it also has a uniquely high bar for success.
While Game of Thrones achieved near-universal critical acclaim amongst both fans and critics for the majority of its run, its final seasons proved to be more divisive. Compared to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the series’ first season, Game of Thrones season 8 was negatively reviewed and is the only season of the show to fall into the ‘rotten’ category on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences will be hoping that, with House of the Dragon, the franchise can return to the form of its beloved earlier seasons. With actors like Smith leading the line, it has a good chance of winning fans back over and repeating the success of its predecessor, but for now, audiences will have to wait and see.
Source: Sad Happy Confused