( ) — The wait for “Game of Thrones” lovers has come to an end with the premiere of the first chapter of the prequel “House of the Dragon”.
Who’s who in the new HBO series? Here, a review of the characters and actors and actresses who play them. Some are relatively new to the screen, but others you probably remember from such iconic movies and series as “Notting Hill” and “Doctor Who.”
Paddy Considine, King Viserys Targaryen
Paddy Considine as a very tired Viserys Targaryen king in “House of Dragon.”
King Viserys is chosen by the lords of Westeros as successor to the old king, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council of Harrenhal. He is a warm, kind and decent man who only wants to carry on his grandfather’s legacy. “But good men are not necessarily great kings,” warns HBO in its review.
(To understand the time frame: Viserys I is Daenerys’s great-great-grandfather.)
Paddy Considine is known for his work in the films “Dead Man’s Shoes” (2004), “Welcome to the End of the World” (2013), and “In America” (2002).
He also has writing and directing experience. His feature film debut as a director was in 2011 with “Tyrannousaur,” which earned him the BAFTA for Best Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
Matt Smith, Prince Daemon Targaryen
Matt Smith at the premiere of “House of the Dragon” in Los Angeles on July 27, 2022. (Chris Delmas / AFP / Getty Images)
Smith plays the younger brother of King Viserys and heir to the throne. He is introduced to her as a peerless warrior and rider of dragons. HBO says that “Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that every time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin…”.
AJ Willingham tells that his character “is the typical Hamlet type and ‘always a prince, never a king.’ normal as far as this family is concerned.
Smith’s face is probably one of the most recognizable in the “House of Dragon” cast. The actor rose to fame when he was just 26 years old and was cast in the iconic BBC series “Doctor Who.”
His career also includes the famous series “The Crown”, about the history of the British royal family, in which he played Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Olivia CookeAlicent Hightower
Cooke plays the daughter of Otto Hightower, the hand of the king and the most attractive woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She is also the second wife of Viserys and stepmother of Rhaenyra. She possesses courtly grace but also political acumen, says HBO.
The actress had roles in “Ready Player One” (2018), “Me, him and Raquel” (2015) and “Sound of Metal” (2019), among other productions.
Emma Darcy, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
Emma Darcy at the premiere of “House of the Dragon” in Los Angeles on July 27, 2022. (Chris Delmas / AFP / Getty Images)
Rhaenyra Targaryen is the first-born of the king (the daughter he had with his first wife) of pure Valyrian blood and rider of dragons. “Rhaenyra was born with everything…but she wasn’t born a man,” HBO says in her description.
It seems that most of the action of “House of the Dragon” will focus on her, who can be considered as the Daenerys of this series.
Darcy participated in series such as “Wanderlust” (2018), “Hanna” (2020) and “Truth Seekers” (2020), according to his profile on IMDb. His production with greater recognition in the specialized site Rotten Tomatoes is the movie “Mothering Sunday” (2021).
The role of teenage Rhaenyra Targaryen, meanwhile, is played by Milly Alcock.
Milly Alcock (Chris Delmas / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Steve Toussaint, Lord Corlys Velaryon
Toussaint is lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen.
Known as the “serpent of the sea”, “he is the most famous nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros and built his house to mightiness. He is even richer than the Lannisters and commands the largest army in the world.”
Toussaint’s career it started in 1994 with a role in the miniseries “The memories of Sherlock Holmes”, although his most recognized roles are in the productions “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (2010), “Judge Dredd” (1995) and “Shooting Dogs ” (2005).
Eve Best, Princess Rhaenys Targaryens
She is a dragon rider and wife of Lord Corlys Velaryon.
She was ruled out as heir to the throne because the kingdom favored her cousin, Viserys, simply because he was male. HBO describes her as “the queen she never was”.
best has a long trajectory that encompasses the small screen, cinema and theater.
(Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO)
One of his best-known roles is that of “The King’s Speech”, a film in which he played Wallis Simpson, the woman with whom King Edward VII falls in love and for whom he abdicates the British throne shortly after taking office.
In 2007 and 2008, she was nominated for Tony Awards for her roles in the dramas “A Moon for the Misbegotten” and “The Homecoming,” respectively, according to the IMDb biography.
In the English theater he won multiple awards.
Fabien Frenkel, Sir Criston Cole
Frenkel plays the son of the Lord of Blackhaven’s butler, who is of Dornish descent. Cole has no rights to land or title. The producer says in her description of the characters that “all he has to his name is his honor and his preternatural skill with a sword.”
His screen career began in 2019. Among the titles featured in which he participated includes the 2021 TV miniseries “The Serpent”.
Sonoya Mizuno, Mysaria
Mysaria, the person played by Mizuno, arrived in Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can remember. She “could have withered…but she instead rose to become the most trusted—and most unlikely—ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne,” according to the character’s official introduction.
Mizuno, born in Japan, is an actress, ballet dancer, and model. IMDb highlights his involvement in director Alex Garland’s “Ex Machina,” Annihilation” and “Devs.” He starred in the Netflix series “Manica” and had minor roles in the award-winning film “La La Land” and “The Beauty and theBeast”.
Rhys Ifans, Ser Otto Hightower
Rhys Ifans at the premiere of “House of the Dragon” in Los Angeles on July 27, 2022. (Chris Delmas / AFP / Getty Images)
Sir Otto is the hand of the king, a loyal servant of the throne. According to the hand, the greatest threat to the kingdom is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.
It is very, very likely that you know Ifans, perhaps not by his real name but as Spike, the housemate of William Thacker (Hugh Grant) in the iconic “Notting Hill” (1999).
Among other of his most outstanding works are “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012), “Anonymous” (2011) and “Snowden” (2016).
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