Matt Smith has opened up on why he was hesitant to take the role of Daemon Targaryen in the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon.
Back in 2019, Game of Thrones ended its eight-season run on a controversial note, with the last two seasons receiving a mixed reaction from fans and critics. Dispite this, the series maintained its high ratings, and several spinoff series was put into the works. The first that went into full development was the prequel series, House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon is a series based on George R.R. Martain’s book, Fire and Blood. The second half of this book focused on the Targaryen Civil War which erupted after Rhaenyra Targaryen was declared the heir to the Iron Throne. In late 2020, Matt Smith was cast to play the role of Daemon Targaryen; Rhaenyra’s uncle and a key figure in the civil war. Matt Smith, however, wasn’t all that eager to take on the role.
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Smith revealed why it was he wasn’t all that eager to take on the role of Dameon Targaryen in House of the Dragon, citing the popularity of Game of Thrones:
“I was in a car park and my agent said, ‘There’s this part in this new show that is a prequel to Game of Thrones.’ And I was like, ‘Ohhh. I don’t know. It’s a tough one, isn’t it? It’s a tough one to follow. Haven’t we seen this before?’ But then [the offer] sort of didn’t go away. Then it came up again, and then I went in for a screen test, and then that was that.”
He then revealed why it was he ultimately opted to take the role:
“I became aware that Paddy Considine was doing the show as well. He’d already been offered the role of King Viserys, and I was such a huge admirer of Paddy’s and I’d always wanted to work with him. So that was a real draw.
And then there are so many elements to Daemon. I love the relationship with his brother. He’s a brilliant character because you never quite know what he’s thinking. I liked the ambiguity of that. There’s a ruthlessness in his personality that I thought was really interesting, to see characters who behave that badly. But in many ways, he comes from what he thinks is quite a genuine place.”
Here is the synopsis for the Game of Thrones spin-off series:
Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan J. Condal serve as co-showrunners on House of the Dragon and are executive producing alongside George R. R. 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 House Of The Dragon premiere on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday at 9 ET. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the series and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
