‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ Casts Its Lead Role
Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is moving forward, and they have just tapped the actor to play the lead role.
Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum, Hot Fuzz) will play King Viserys Targaryen, according to an exclusive report from Entertainment Weekly. This is the first role from the series to be cast, which will be set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and will be based on George R.R. Martin’s Targaryen chronicles Fire & Blood.
In addition to the casting news, EW is also revealing a new character description for the King:
“King Viserys Targaryen is chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings.”
The news trade is also saying that there are other main roles actively looking for actors to play them, which include:
- Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen: Viserys’ favorite offspring, and his chosen heir, who has always dreamed of becoming the first Queen of Westeros.
- Queen Alicent Hightower: Viserys’ second wife, mother of three, and stepmother of Rhaenyra.
- Aegon II Targaryen: the princess’ younger half-brother, who fights for his birthright to the Throne, igniting a civil war.
- Prince Daemon Targaryen: Rhaenyra’s uncle, an experienced warrior.
In addition to that, the show has added another member to its writers’ room, as Sara Lee Hess from Orange is the New Black is joining the crew as a writer and producer. She has already been linked to Westeros in the past, as she was involved in another Game of Thrones prequel that ultimately got scrapped, a project starring Naomi Watts that shot a pilot last year but was later ditched by the network.
House of the Dragon has Ryan Condal and Game of Thrones veteran Miguel Sapochnik on board as showrunners, with Sapochnik also directing the pilot. While the casting news is great because it means that the plans for the show are moving forward, it is still Sapochnik’s involvement the thing that interests me the most about this prequel, as he directed what is in my opinion the greatest television episode of all time, the Season 6 finale of Game of Thrones, Winds of Winter. Whatever he decides to do in Westeros, I’m all in. Yes, even after watching Season 8.
House of the Dragon is supposed to premiere on HBO sometime in 2022.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
