‘House of the Dragon’ Star Matt Smith Thinks His Character Daemon Targaryen Has ‘Slightly Too Much’ Sex in the ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel
House of the Dragon is coming soon, featuring a large ensemble cast that includes Doctor Who alum Matt Smith. He plays Prince Daemon Targaryen, a character he describes as “sort of an outsider” who is there to “cause chaos and piss people off because, simply, it entertains him.” Prince Daemon is a fierce warrior and dragonrider who also happens to love the ladies A LOT. But according to Smith, he believes his character has “slightly too much sex.”
Matt Smith hasn’t read the ‘House of the Dragon’ source material
Smith admits that he hasn’t read the book the new Game of Thrones prequel is based on. He recently explained to Rolling Stone that the reason he hasn’t made it through George R. R. Martin’s Westeros history book Fire & Blood in its entirety is because it’s a “big f**king book.” However, he was a fan of Game of Thrones and watched every episode.
“I’ve always been a fan. It’s just good, isn’t it? I remember going to Comic Con for Doctor Who, and meeting George R.R. Martin on a boat. Game of Thrones hadn’t come out yet, and I remember all the cast being there, having no idea what a huge juggernaut it was about to become…” Smith recalled.
The actor also has an opinion about the series’ controversial ending. He says that you’re always going to disappoint some people, but ultimately the body of work they produced stands up.
“Was it a perfect ending? It’s a matter of opinion. It didn’t bother me, I liked it,” Smith revealed.
He thinks Daemon Targaryen has “slightly too much sex’
Being such a big fan of Game of Thrones, Smith was extremely aware that the new prequel would likely include sexually explicit content.
Despite Emilia Clarke’s (Daenerys Targaryen) revelation that she found some of the nude scenes in the original series uncomfortable — and the fact that we are now in post-Me Too Hollywood — Smith says that there is still plenty of explicit content in House of the Dragon.
“You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’” Smith admitted. “And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’ I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we’re living in]?’ And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.”
But when it comes to Prince Daemon, Smith says that he has more than his fair share of intimate scenes.
“Yeah — slightly too much, if you ask me,” Smith said with a laugh.
One part of Matt Smith’s ‘House of the Dragon’ character was a ‘f**king pain in the arse’
Smith insists that the one thing they’ve “got going for them” is that the new series is based on an extensive work from an established author like Martin, so they’re “not just plucking fantasy out of thin air.”
“It comes from the mind of George, who’s really clever, and has created a world that feels like it’s translatable,” Smith noted.
He does, however, have one complaint about his role — wearing the wig. He says that sporting the Targaryen’s signature platinum blond mane throughout the entire 10-month shoot was necessary, but extremely time-consuming.
“It looks great but it’s a f**king pain in the arse,” Smith revealed. “It took an hour and a quarter to put on every day. I was like, ‘Obviously, the Targaryens are known for their blonde hair — but can’t we just give them some highlights?’”
House of the Dragon premieres Sunday, August 21 on HBO.
