Game of Thrones Prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight Casts Its Leads

Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell will play Dunk and Egg in the Game of Thrones prequel.

By Jamie Lovett

Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has found its Dunk and Egg. As announced by HBO, Peter Claffey will play Dunk and Dexter Sol Ansell has been cast as Egg. These young characters are later better known in the annals of Westeros' history as Ser Duncan the Tall, legendary Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and King Aegon V Targaryen. However, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is based on George R.R. Martin's trilogy of novellas -- 1998's The Hedge Knight, 2003's The Sworn Sword, and 2010's The Mystery Knight – which tell of the duo's journeys together during their youth, with the young Prince Aegon clandestinely accompanying Duncan during the knight's adventures.

Collectively known as "The Tales of Dunk and Egg" and published in 2015 as a single volume titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, these stories – and, thus, the HBO adaptation – occur 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones and roughly a century after the events of House of the Dragon.

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(Photo: HBO)

Here's HBO's official description of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight: "A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall (Claffey), and his diminutive squire, Egg (Ansell). Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends."

Claffey is an actor and rugby player whose previous credits include Bad Sisters (2022) and Wreck (2022). His upcoming projects include roles in Netflix's Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 and starring opposite Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These.

Ansell has been acting since the age of four when he debuted in ITV's Emmerdale (2019). Since then, he's appeared in The Midwich Cuckoos (2022), Netflix's Christmas on Mistletoe Farm (2022), and as Young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023). Ansell will also appear in Here, The Moor, Hullraisers, and Robin and The Hood.

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George R.R. Martin and Ira Parker wrote and are producing A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. Ryan Condal, Vince Gerardis, Owen Harris, and Sarah Bradshaw are executive producing.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is the next project to join HBO's growing Game of Thrones universe. Its first Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, returns for its second season in June.

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