‘House of the Dragon’ Star Paddy Considine Was Just Like His Character in 1 Particular Way Claims His Co-Star Eve Best
House of the Dragon is the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel that’s all about House Targaryen. It takes place approximately two centuries before the events of the original series, when the Targaryen’s were at the height of their wealth and power. But two separate claims to the Iron Throne from the children of King Viserys (Paddy Considine) cause a bloody civil war and the extinction of dragons.
Eve Best — who plays Princess Rhaenys Velaryon — recently shared some behind-the-scenes details about the new series and opened up about what drew her to the project.
Eve Best wasn’t a ‘Game of Thrones’ fan before ‘House of the Dragon’
Best is a stage and screen vet who started performing in west London at the age of nine. During her 40+ year career, she’s won an Olivier award, received two Tony nominations, and has starred in Oscar-winning films and Emmy Award-winning TV shows.
But before she won the role of Princess Rhaenys, Best says that she was “a complete Game of Thrones virgin” and was unprepared for what she was getting herself into.
“I knew it was a big deal but was unprepared for the sheer, gobsmacking scale of it. Walking on to the set was like walking into New York but instead of towering skyscrapers, it’s Dragonstone. The crew was nearly 4,000 people, which was jaw-dropping. I’ve caught up since,” Best told The Guardian.
Paddy Considine wouldn’t let anyone else sit on the Iron Throne
According to Best, the audition process for House of the Dragon was “very secretive.” She says she was sent a scene from the original Game of Thrones, but the names were changed and no one told her the title of the new show.
When she finally received a real script, Best says she “loved the writing” of co-showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. That’s what “hooked” her in immediately with the driving theme of the series.
“There is a line my character says early on: ‘Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend to the Iron Throne.’ Lose the word ‘Iron’ from that sentence and it feels all too relevant. To top it all off, they told me my character was a dragon rider. I was in!” Best admitted.
Even though she was a newbie to George R. R. Martin’s fantasy world, Best says she quickly learned just how important it was to her co-stars and fans — especially when it came to the Iron Throne. She says that Considine — whose character, King Viserys, is on the throne when House of the Dragon begins — was very possessive of the set piece.
“He didn’t want anybody else to sit on it. I never quite knew to what extent he was joking. Rightfully it should have been my throne. I had to settle for sitting on a replica one at Comic Con instead,” Best said.
‘House of the Dragon’ is about a family at war
The spectacle of House of the Dragon cost HBO nearly $20 million per episode to produce. But underneath all of those fantasy trappings, Best says that the prequel is essentially about a family at war.
“Even though they’re a fantasy royal family and clearly a crazy bunch of people, these shows are endlessly fascinating. They basically show us our own political systems and our own family lives. I remember working on Pinter’s The Homecoming on Broadway and he described family life as ‘internecine warfare.’ That feels about right,” Best said.
She added that all of the backstabbing and rivalries in the story make it “depressingly resonant” because of what’s going on in British and global politics.
“All kinds of outmoded, corrupt, toxic systems are unraveling, imploding, and being dismantled. That feels like Westeros territory,” Best concluded.
House of the Dragon premieres Sunday, August 21 on HBO.
