Matt Smith explained why he was reluctant to play the role of Daemon Targaryen in the game of thrones prequel, Dragon House.
Back in 2019, game of thrones ended its eight-season run on a controversial note, with the final two seasons receiving a mixed reaction from fans and critics. Despite this, the series maintained its high ratings and several spin-off series were started. The first that entered full development was the prequel series, Dragon House.
Dragon House is a series based on the book by George RR Martain, fire and blood. The second half of this book focused on the Targaryen Civil War that erupted after Rhaenyra Targaryen was declared heir to the Iron Throne. In late 2020, Matt Smith was cast as Daemon Targaryen; Rhaenyra’s uncle and a key figure in the Civil War. Matt Smith, however, wasn’t so eager to take on the role.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Smith revealed why he wasn’t so keen on playing the role of Dameon Targaryen in Dragon Houseciting the popularity of game of thrones:
“I was in a parking lot and my agent said, ‘There’s this part in this new show that’s a Game of Thrones prequel.’ And I was like, ‘Ohhh. I don’t know. It’s hard, isn’t it? It’s hard to follow. Haven’t we seen this before? But then [the offer] sort of hasn’t gone away. Then it came back, then I went for a screen test, and that was it.
He then revealed why he ultimately chose to play the role:
“I realized that Paddy Considine was also doing the show. He had been offered the role of King Viserys before, and I was a big fan of Paddy and had always wanted to work with him. So it was a true draw.
And then there are so many elements in Daemon. I love the relationship with his brother. He’s a brilliant character because you never really know what he’s thinking. I liked the ambiguity of that. There’s a ruthlessness to his personality that I found really interesting, to see characters behaving so badly. But in many ways, he comes from what he thinks is a pretty authentic place.
Here is the synopsis of game of thrones derived series:
Based on the book Fire & Blood by George RR Martin, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (aka the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and will be set 300 years before the events of Game Of Thrones.
Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan J. Condal are co-showrunners on House of the Dragon onend are executive producers alongside George RR Martin. The series features a star-studded cast that includes Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Paddy Considine, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best and Sonoya Mizuno.
New episodes of Dragon House premieres on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday at 9 ET. Stay tuned for all the latest news regarding the series and be sure to subscribe to the Heroic Hollywood YouTube channel for more original video content.
