See Matt Smith Working On The Game Of Thrones Prequel, House Of The Dragon
Matt Smith is officially at work on House of the Dragon! Catch a first look behind the scenes.
This article is more than 2 years old
Despite heavy criticism for its scenes of sex and violence, Game of Thrones remains one of the largest critically acclaimed TV shows of the 21 century. It amassed a huge audience, rating as the top HBO series of all time, with an average of 11.99 million viewers per episode. Two years after the series’ last episode was aired, the prequel series House of the Dragon just entered production, with actor Matt Smith as one of the lead roles.
On April 26, 2021, the official Game of Thrones Twitter page announced the beginning of production for the House of the Dragon, a prequel to the massively successful Game of Throne series. The announcement includes a picture of the actor Matt Smith in what appears to be a table read for the cast. The post disclosed no further details, other than the included picture of the cast and the upcoming series’ own Twitter page.
While it may be hard to see details in the wide shot, zooming in has revealed some familiar faces in the House of the Dragon cast, including Matt Smith. Upon visiting the included page and examining the picture, we managed to discern other actors and find out more about their respective roles.
Going from left to right, we spotted actress Olivia Cooke (4th from the left), who will portray Alicent Hightower. See below.
Next to her (5th from the left) is Paddy Considine, who will appear as King Viserys Targaryen. See Below.
We’ve also spotted actor Matt Smith seated third from the right. He can be seen wearing glasses and looking down in the zoomed-in photo below.
Next to him, second from the right, is House of the Dragon’s Emma D’Arcy who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen. Matt Smith interprets the role of Prince Daemon Targaryen and King Viserys’ younger brother. The novels display Matt Smith’s character as both man and a monster, made of equal parts of light and darkness, which adds tons of character complexity.
Other roles include Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, and Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon. Matt Smith’s character, Prince Daemon, will likely play a crucial role in the series due to the character’s complexity, his unmatched wit on the field of battle, and his vital role in the Dance of the Dragons.
House of the Dragon was co-created by George R.R. Martin, Miquel Sapochnik, and Ryan Condal, with Condal writing the pilot scrips for the series. He’s also a showrunner alongside Game of Throne’s veteran director Miquel Sapochnik and many other writers included in this 10-episode series effort. The show will highlight the early days of House Targaryen, the ancestors of the series leading character Daenerys Stormborn of Game of Thrones. Set hundreds of years before the original series, House of the Dragon will likely include a three-year war of succession for the Targaryen crown, which brings about the beginning of the bloodline’s downfall.
Actor Matt Smith is new to the franchise as he didn’t appear in any previous GoT episodes. His most notable works include 2005’s Doctor Who and Mapplethorne, though he appeared as an outstanding support actor in a drama series The Queen. Will he leave a lasting impression as Prince Daemon Targaryen? We’ll have to wait for 2022 to find out.
