Game of Thrones Prequel Casts The Outsider Star in Leading Role

Work on HBO's House of the Dragon moves right along as the Game of Thrones prequel has found its [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

Work on HBO's House of the Dragon moves right along as the Game of Thrones prequel has found its leading man. Paddy Considine has been cast as King Viserys Targaryen, a character described as a "warm, kind, and decent man" chosen by the lords of Westeros to rule the land. As the initial report from THR points out, his kindness could lead to his ultimate downfall, as we've seen before niceness doesn't make you the fairest leader in the Game of Thrones world.

Though House of the Dragon will serve as the actor's breakthrough role, recent credits include HBO's The Outside, BBC's Peaky Blinders, Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum, and dozens of others. Though exact details have yet to be revealed about the series, House of the Dragon is expected to follow Considine's Viserys and the rest of the Targaryen clan in the years leading up to Game of Thrones.

After HBO ended up passing on one Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon was ordered straight-to-series, giving the writer's room 10 episodes to craft a debut season. It's expected to take place some 300 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones, according to HBO content czar Casey Bloys. In fact, the close proximity to the main series is one reason it moved forward in production while the other prequel did not.

"That [prequel] was 8,000 years before the current show, so it required a lot more invention," Bloys revealed to the outlet. "One of the benefits of House of the Dragon is there was a text from George and there was a little bit more of a roadmap. [Co-creator Jane Goldman's prequel] did have more challenges in terms of establishing a world, but I think she handled that beautifully… there wasn't one glaring thing."

It's expected for House of the Dragon to debut on HBO at some point in 2022. Fire & Blood scribe George R.R. Martin is credited as a co-creator on the series alongside Ryan Condal (Colony). Condal is serving as co-showrunner of the series with Game of Thrones vet Miguel Sapochnik. Martin, Condal, Sapochnik, Sara Lee Hess, and Vince Gerardis are each earning an executive producer credit while Sapochnik is also expected to direct the pilot.

Cover photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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