The days are counting down until House of the Dragon premieres on HBO to show another generation’s battle for power, centuries before the events of Game of Thrones. One thing remains true for both shows, however: a whole lot of people want to sit the Iron Throne. That includes the cast, and one star was apparently very “possessive” about sharing that seat.
The stars of House of the Dragon opened up to THR about the behind-the-scenes fight for the Iron Throne and which of their co-stars wanted to keep his fellow actors off of it. Paddy Considine (who plays King Viserys Targaryen) was “so possessive,” according to Eve Best, who plays Rhaenys Targaryen. Steve Toussaint, whose character is Lord Corlys Velaryon, elaborated:
It was like it was his. At one point I said to him — because my character has a throne too, but it’s nowhere near like that — I said, ‘You can sit on mine if I can sit on —’ and he was like, ‘Nah.'
Even though Corlys “The Sea Snake” Velaryon isn’t a king in Westeros, Steve Toussaint’s character has a throne of his own. Apparently, it’s just not the kind of seat that will tempt Paddy Considine to share the Iron Throne with his co-star! It sounds like Considine might have been channeling his inner Viserys in not wanting to swap.
After all, the main conflict of House of the Dragon (based on the trailer footage’s emphasis on Rhaenyra vs. Daemon) seems to be over who will hold the Iron Throne after the current king’s death, so maybe the constant reminders of Viserys’ impending doom make Considine protective of his seat!
Of course, despite an image of Rhaenyra leading to some speculation, there’s no saying if or when Viserys will die and open the door for Targaryen civil war, but the Iron Throne belongs to Considine’s character at least when the show begins. As it turns out, the actor didn’t even want to share with the actress portraying his queen. Olivia Cooke, who plays the adult version of Alicent Hightower, explained:
As soon as I saw the Iron Throne in rehearsals I ran straight up to it and plopped my ass on it. But on set, Paddy was quite territorial, so when he wasn’t looking I’d do a quick [sit]...It was just an aura, just a feeling that you got like, ‘OK, maybe don’t go up.'
Paddy Considine may not have come out and declared on set that nobody else could sit on the Iron Throne, but his co-stars got the message! Luckily, the other actors seem to be amused that he was so determined to keep them out of the iconic seat. In fact, his efforts didn’t end on set, as Steve Toussaint (who is already interested in another Game of Thrones spinoff) revealed what happened when HBO brought a replica to San Diego Comic-Con:
He shifted me again! I was shooting it and then he walked up with that big grin of his and I was like, ‘OK, I’ll leave.'
Eve Best had a little more luck with the replica at SDCC, but Steve Toussaint may need to wait until Season 2 to get another chance at the Iron Throne. Although House of the Dragon has not been officially renewed for a second season, it’s hard to imagine any other show on television less likely to be cancelled.
HBO boss Casey Bloys has said that there’s no ratings threshold that the new show needs to hit to be considered a success, and there’s definitely no guarantee that House of the Dragon Season 1 will achieve the kinds of numbers that could match the final season of Game of Thrones, but it’s safe to say that the Targaryens’ story in this era is only beginning.
Luckily, House of the Dragon is only a few weeks away. The series premiere airs on HBO on Sunday, August 21 at 9 p.m. ET in the 2022 TV premiere schedule. In the meantime, you can get your fix of Targaryen action with all eight seasons of Game of Thrones, available streaming with an HBO Max subscription.
