‘House of the Dragon’: Paddy Considine Reacts to George R.R. Martin’s Compliment
House of the Dragon fills in the Targaryen Dynasty from 172 years before the birth of Daenerys, so nearly two centuries before Game of Thrones. Fans of the series are sure to have their own thoughts and comments about this retroactive history, but creator George R.R. Martin is pleased. He paid House of the Dragon actor Paddy Considine a high compliment for his portrayal of King Viserys, and Considine reacted when he heard it for the first time.
Considine appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on Oct. 14. Host Josh Horowitz read the compliment to Considine and got his immediate reaction. The season finale of House of the Dragon premieres Sunday on HBO Max.
George R.R. Martin complimented Paddy Considine on ‘House of the Dragon’
Viserys Targaryen was the king of the Seven Kingdoms. His quest for an heir would cause an early game of thrones, including his suggestion that his daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock, Emma D’Arcy) inherit the Iron Throne. Horowitz read Martin’s praise for Considine’s portrayal of Viserys.
“George said, ‘For the record, the character he created for the show is so much more powerful and tragic and fully fleshed than my own version in Fire & Blood that I’m half tempted to go back and rip up those chapters and rewrite the whole history of his reign. Paddy deserves an Emmy for this episode alone. If he doesn’t get one, hey, there’s no justice,’” Horowitz read on Happy Sad Confused.
Paddy Considine puts George R.R. Martin’s compliment in context
Considine expressed gratitude to Martin for his House of the Dragon praise. He also expressed modesty towards the justice community.
“There are far greater injustices in the world but for George to say that, it’s really humbling,” Considine said. “I think that’s an amazing thing to do, to have the author and creator of that world say those things, you’ve made a character greater than they.”
Paddy Considine made ‘House of the Dragon’ his own, but not alone
Considine spent the hour with Horowitz talking about his performance on House of the Dragon and what he brought to the role, including bits of improvisation. However, in light of Martin’s compliment, Considine made a point to share the credit.
“The thing is Viserys was on the script,” Considine said. “When I talk of improvisation I don’t mean we went in and it’s like Goodfellas. It’s just the odd flourish. It’s the thing you felt. I always had this thing of when I die, I know what I see and I know what I want to see. I kept that a secret and I don’t know if I even spoke to [director] Geeta [Vasant Patel] about it, I can’t remember. It was always there. For George to say that is the greatest compliment. It’s amazing, really.”
Considine added one moment in Viserys’ death scene himself. So perhaps that’s what Martin meant.
All I had in my head was that he reaches up and touches her face. And then I improvised that moment where I said, ‘My love.’ The beautiful thing as well about that episode is they just picked up every nuance. You give good work to people and they don’t see it. They don’t see the little moments, they don’t see the crown falling off the head, they stop and go again whereas the accidents are where beautiful things happen. Geeta allowed for these things to happen. Not only that, put them in. Put these little nuances in. Put those moments in and I was really grateful because a lot of your performance too depends on everybody else and the choices they make in the edit.
Paddy Considine, Happy Sad Confused, 10/14/22
