It’s well known by now that only some of the most ardent fans can recognize the difference between the Erryk twins and Arryk Cargyll from House of the Dragon. The actors who play them are identical twins! Actors Elliott Tittensorand and Luke Tittensor play Erryk Cargyll and Arryk Cargyll respectively.
During the season finale of House of the Dragon, the duo were somehow responsible for the arrest and installation of Prince Aegon, played by Tom Glynn-Carney, on the Iron Throne. When the new allegiance is proclaimed, the duo will be split, with Luke’s Arryk supporting Aegon and the Greens and Elliott’s Erryk supporting his new queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen. But during the whole mess, you missed a sneaky move, as revealed by House of the Dragon series director Greg Yaitanes.
What did the director of House of the Dragon say?
HOTD Director Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes, who directed the final episode of House of the Dragon season 1, told the West of Westeros podcast about a humorous production bait and change they had to make due to the COVID-19 scare. Elliott was infected with the virus during filming, forcing the crew to locate the next logical replacement: his twin brother Luke. Director Yaitanes said:
“There’s this scene, this big scene where Corlys comes down and they put the markers on the table and the messenger walks in. It was a two-day plan and then we got COVID,” he adds. “[Elliot] got COVID, so we swapped him with his brother.
It was surely a huge relief to find such a seamless substitute to solve an unforeseen difficulty, and the director remarks, “it would have killed us” if Luke hadn’t been able to replace his brother. What Yaitanes continues to say is a tribute to Luke’s ability to jump into a bit of a different position and pull it off perfectly. He says:
“We were about to do the whole Emma cover and he’s standing right next to [them].”
Cargyll Twin Switcheroo was due to a Covid scare
Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk Cargyll search for Aegon II in House of the Dragon episode 9
Over the years, a twin acting as their duplicate twin has become a history feature in comedy TV and film, but HBO’s House Of The Dragon has its own shot at a behind-the-scenes drama twin swap. Politics. A member of the Cargyll twins was infected with COVID-19 while filming the finale.
While one incidence of COVID-19 has been enough to shut down countless films in recent years, the change has allowed production to avoid potentially devastating production setbacks. As if the distinction between the names Arryk and Erryk weren’t already difficult, the director claims that things got a little complicated during the filming sequences with Luke Tittensor, Elliot Grihault (who plays Lucerys Velaryon) and Elliott Tittensor.
