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The costumes on House of the Dragon are as lavish as their predecessors on Game of Thrones. Wearing them is no easy job. Fabien Frankel, who plays Ser Criston Cole on House of the Dragon, bore the brunt of medieval armor. He said one part of his body ached the most because of the armor.

'House of the Dragon': Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) holds a shield and swings a mace at Daemon (Matt Smith)
L-R: Fabien Frankel and Matt Smith | Ollie Upton/HBO

Frankel was a guest on the House of the Dragons podcast on Sept. 11 to discuss the episode “King of the Narrow Sea.” When asked about his training for the role, Frankel revealed that just wearing the armor required him to retrain his shoulders. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere Sundays on HBO Max. 

Fabien Frankel trained more for ‘House of the Dragons’ costume than action

Criston Cole’s House of the Dragon introduction is a joust against Daemon (Matt Smith). It’s an epic mano a mano sequence, and there is plenty more to come. However, Frankel said just putting on the armor required more training. 

“I got in some shape,” Frankel said on the House of the Dragons podcast. “I’ll tell you, I got in what I thought was pretty decent shape. The armor just is basically no matter how strong you are, the armor has a weird way of really just figuring out where your weak points are. I remember Graham McTavish’s big thing was that his feet just hurt on a constant. I don’t know if he had weak feet or bad shoes.”

Fabien Frankel’s weakness was his shoulders 

Frankel previously discussed the 72 straps keeping the suit of armor attached, which all had to come off for Criston’s sex scene with Rhaenyra. Early on, Frankel learned he’d have to bulk up his shoulders to get through House of the Dragon.

“In my situation, it was my shoulders,” Frankel said. “So I just don’t know whether I have weak shoulders or a dodgy shoulder strap. You just have to get in some form of shape. It’s a different thing. It’s not that bodybuilder shape, it’s a utilitarian shape. What muscles do I need to wear this armor for as long as I need it? That’s what you end up realizing, rather than can I get a six pack and have defined pecs?”

He pulls it off, though. You never see Ser Criston Cole slouching, so Frankel’s suffering for our entertainment paid off. 

Criston Cole’s ‘House of the Dragon’ weapons were tricky too 

In that duel, Criston wields a mace against Daemon. In addition to his vulnerable shoulders, Criston said his House of the Dragon weapons made him fear for his life too.

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“The mace is the greatest nightmare weapon of all time,” Frankel said. “I don’t have to tell you how stressful that weapon is. It’s a ball on a stick that is going to rebound off of people into you. So actually, the majority of your training is spent going if I throw it this way, do i have to move my hips to the left or to the right. It’s not cool. It’s not rock n’ roll learning the mace. Honestly, at times, I was like I should’ve learned some Shakira style dancing to get this right.”

Frankel could add shin injuries to his bruised shoulders.

“I impaled myself,” Frankel said. “My shins at the ends of those fights, honestly, by the end of it, I was padded to the nines. I had pads everywhere. By the end of it, production was like the pads in the whole of Leavesden Studios are gone. Fabien’s wearing them everywhere.”

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