Collider: How do you wrap your head around playing a king in a world like this?
PADDY CONSIDINE: Yeah.
I tried to make him as human as possible in this world.
I thought he was a rarity in this world.
There wasnt this tyrannical character that wed seen in the past.
He wasnt this terrible ruler.
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These conflicts are more on a family level.
I thought he was different, thats for sure.
I thought it was a great part because of that.
Image via HBO
What went through your head, when this project came your way?
CONSIDINE: It was a bit of both.
Im relatively on unscathed.
Image via HBO
I move around very stealthily, and I dont get recognized.
I dont get any of that kind of stuff.
My fear was, What if that changes?
Image via HBO
I live a pretty quiet existence, as much as I can.
So, there was a bit of fear.
But as far as the role and what I was taking on, I wasnt fearful of that.
It hadnt gone to anybody else.
I was the first person they approached for it.
So, I was like, Really?
Okay, fair enough.
Especially to have somebody think of you as a king, thats always good.
CONSIDINE: Yeah, but props to them because thats them thinking outside the box.
Good on him for taking a chance on me.
Thats a really big thing, because people dont.
I was like, Im never going to get the chance, if thats the case.
What do you want me to play?
Hoodlums off council estates for the rest of my life?
What am I going to do?
So, Im really grateful to them.
Do you always have to take a moment, before you get going the day?
CONSIDINE: Not always.
We all look the same.
Everybody is dressed up to the nines.
The one thing you cant avoid is the Targaryen hairdo.
Thats something youre not getting away with.
At one point, I suggested, What if Viserys has actually got very cropped hair?
What if he doesnt have the long hair and he looks more like Lee Marvin on the throne?
That didnt go very far, at all.
You cant get out of that one.
Youve got to wear the hair.
Its House Targaryen, Come forth, my queen.
I had a lot good time with all of that.
Choosing those wigs was a real job.
They didnt just lump it on your head, the first blonde wig they could get their hands on.
They really have to consider the tones and how it looks against your skin.
Otherwise, it can look a bit green or too yellow, so that was quite fascinating.
And then, there were the costumes.
I loved all the design.
What have you most enjoyed about the dynamic between your character and Matt Smiths character?
Even though theyre theyre brothers and theyre the same blood, theyre so such polar opposites of each other.
In Viserys eyes, Daemon is just an irresponsible, attention-seeking younger brother, and a troublesome guy.
As long as Daemons occupied and Viserys is not hearing his name mentioned, hes happy.
Hes always having to defend him against the council and make excuses for him.
He gets away with behavior that other people would be sentenced to death for.
So, in Viserys eyes, Daemons a bit of a liability.
He loves his brother, but its not the relationship they once had.
He loves his brother, but secretly, theres a part of Viserys that doesnt like Daemon.
That was my secret playing it.
I think you always have to have a little secret.
Do you feel like Daemon is trustworthy, or is Viserys more trustworthy?
CONSIDINE: Viserys is definitely trustworthy, but I think Daemon would die for Viserys.
Daemon would die for Viserys, but Viserys wouldnt die for Daemon.
Daemon wants his brothers love.
He wants to be by his side.
He wants to be respected.
But he has that gene where he cant be trusted with the duties that Viserys would bestow upon him.
He cant do the simplest of tasks without fucking it up.
So he cant have him there.
Theres always one in every family.
CONSIDINE: Well, thats it, isnt it?
Im off before the war begins on the dance floor.
Im out of here.
Daemon has got that energy about him, but hes loyal.
He loves his brother, but its difficult.
Youll see, as the series goes on, their relationship and where it goes.
It gets quite sad.
The scene with Viserys wife giving birth is so heartbreaking and tragic.
What was it like to read that and to figure out how to do that?
That whole sequence was a lot.
CONSIDINE: It was a lot of work for Sian [Brooke], who played Aemma.
She had the biggest job that day, of making that work, because it was physical and long.
There were a lot of technical things we were dealing with, with pipes pumping blood.
You cant just do a half-performance, when doing that kind of thing.
It wasnt very difficult for me to react the way I did, in that situation.
We met before shooting, and we had this fast track into the relationship.
That moment is the most pivotal moment in Viserys life.
You really feel Viserys battling with so much, in that moment.
Its a sense of duty and a sense of the prophecy.
Its all those things going through his head.
Its not an easy decision to make.
Someone in there, he chooses legacy over his wife.
I always understood that he was going to lose her anyway, so the baby needed to be saved.
But regardless, its a massive event that definitely changes the whole story, going forward.
It seems to even change how he views his daughter, even if thats only temporary.
CONSIDINE: Yeah, it does.
He loves his daughter.
Thats the last remaining piece of Aemma in this world.
He says to her, You are the best of your mother, and he believes that.
CONSIDINE: Yeah, I think so.
House of the Dragonairs on Sunday nights on HBO and is available to stream at HBO Max.
