House of the Dragon Star Was "Shocked" at Viewers Backlash to Their Character
HBO released their first Game of Thrones spin-off last year with House of the Dragon, and it quickly became a major hit for the network and Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service. House of the Dragon opened to record-breaking numbers that gave it the most-viewed premiere for a new series in a decade and has yet to be topped. It was revealed fairly close to the end of the first season that House of the Dragon would be getting a second season, and it recently went into production regardless of the ongoing WGA strike. One of the most popular characters from the first season of House of the Dragon had to be King Viserys (Paddy Considine), even though there are some major detractors of his character. In a new interview with Deadline, Considine revealed that he was shocked at the backlash Viserys received from viewers.
"I was sort of shocked in the first episode or so when people commented that they hated him," Considine said in a recent interview. "I didn't understand that. Why would you hate him? I don't think that fans were used to a character like that in that world, a king who wasn't corrupted by power or entitlement. I think it was difficult for people to place him because he wasn't particularly archetypal and he wasn't what they were expecting from what they'd read in the books, either." That in itself is what made Viserys such a provocative character — and why Considine, whose previous credits included The Death of Stalin and Peaky Blinders, was the perfect man to play him. (Condal likes to describe Considine's casting as "celestial" after both he and director Miguel Sapochnik singled him out from a long list of candidates)."
What Other Game of Thrones Spinoffs Are in Development?
HBO has been working on a a lot of projects set in the Game of Thrones universe including House of the Dragon and even the recently announced A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. There are also a bunch of other spin-offs in development including a series based on Aegon the Conqueror as well as a Jon Snow spin-off set after the events of Game of Thrones. So, it looks like Warner Bros. and HBO will be in the Game of Thrones business for a long time.
"We developed a lot of ideas, we were still developing a lot of ideas, and I think we're really excited about the one that will air later this summer," HBO VP of original programming Kara Buckley revealed of Game of Thrones earlier this month. "But, we don't feel the need to make another one unless it feels really creatively exciting to us. That's my job, at least. And the team that I'm on, that's what we're told to focus on."
House of the Dragon Season 2 will feature a star-studded cast that features Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Additional returning cast includes Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.
All episodes of House of the Dragon Season 1 are now streaming on Max.
What do you think about Paddy Considine's comments? Did you like his House of the Dragon character? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!