A few days ago, a flurry of images caused quite the stir on the Internet: landmarks in New York City like Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building splayed out huge banners attributing to the two opposing factions from HBO’s House of the Dragon—seemingly swearing their allegiance. Whilst they were quickly debased to be digitally altered as part of the series’ promotional campaign, the burning question rang true: Team Green or Team Black? It also happens to be the main point of contention at the end of Season 1 that will set the premise for Season 2—one that was forcefully hurled by none other than King Aegon Targaryen, brother to Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and also known as usurper to the iron throne.
Played by Tom Glynn-Carney, who proved to be quite the scene-stealer in the few instrumental moments he had in Season 1, the haughty king is undoubtedly gearing up to cook up more chaos in the series’ highly-anticipated second season. Going off Glynn-Carney’s witty disposition and that mischievous glint in his eye, the role of King Aegon almost seems tailor-made for the English actor. His deliberate wardrobe of choice over our Zoom interview—a green knit cardigan casually perching off his shoulder—also affirmed the looming presence of Aegon’s camp.
With a résumé that boasts the likes of The King and Dunkirk, you would think he would be more immune to the greatness of sets like House of the Dragon, but the actor remains to be awestruck by the magnitude when filming the HBO series. “Contrary to popular belief, Dunkirk, felt like making an indie film to be honest. Because it was all out on the ocean, and it was really intimate, with the cameras being right there. I think Christopher Nolan did an amazing job in making something this spectacular and massive be kind of micro in a way, while also being relatable and human. And stepping off House of the Dragon, those sets are massive and each are incredible works of art. But you also have to take it just as it is. If you think about it too much, it will frighten you with the size of something like this. So you just take it in your stride and do your job to the best of your abilities.”
In the first season, we saw Aegon go from wasting about for the most part to usurping the throne at the very end. How do you think he has navigated this sharp turn and the weight of his birthright?
Yeah, I don’t think the gravity of it has fully sunk in yet. To be honest, I think he’s still enjoying his new toy. So yeah, you know what goes up, must come down. He’s got a bit of a spring in his step, walking with a bit two inches more height. He’s at the top of the peak, and he’s about to tumble down.
Obviously he’s at a vastly different point of his life right now. How did you going about approaching this change with Aegon?
He’s finding his footing as king and working out what kind of king he wants to be. From an acting perspective, I’m working it out with him and trying not to make too many decisions about how it’s going to unfold, or how he’s going to deal with certain situations. I’m kind of just taking it as it comes because that’s what he does. He doesn’t think things through very much. He’s very impulsive. So I’m trying to approach the work in a similar way.
I think it’s this impulsiveness of his that makes Aegon really fun to watch as a viewer. What has it been like playing someone like him, a character that’s very much like a vulnerable villain?
That’s good way of putting it, bit of both sides. It’s great. It’s a tiring thing playing someone like Aegon. His rhythm is very different to mine, he’s quick and frantic. And I feel like my usual default rhythm is a lot slower than his. So yeah it’s physically and emotionally quite challenging. But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? That’s the aim of the game, to push yourselves out of your comfort zone as actors and and take on things that make you feel out of your safety net.
Have you learned to empathise with him in some way while playing this character?
Totally. I love him to pieces. I think he’s an absolute tragedy. You know, people call him a villain and all sorts of stuff. And yeah, he has been villainous in the past, but I think he’s desperately sad and clawing for any scrap of validation or love or acknowledgement from anyone. Yeah, he’s desperately sad actually [laughs].
Can viewers expect to see a different side of Aegon in Season 2?
I think so. I think we see a fragility to him this time. We see the broken little boy in him. We see the tragedy in him. For me, it kind of explains and informs why he behaves and why he has behaved the way he has behaved in previous episodes. The idea is that he is not just a cold, dark character. It spawns from something and that’s what I’ve tried to bring to him. I think in episode one of Season 2, we see a levity and some humour from him. We see some joie de vivre, but you know it all comes crashing down.
Judging from the trailer, the season is looking to be an epic one. What has the training and preparation been like for Season 2?
The pre-production stuff is always useful, even just to make sure that you’re feeling fit and strong and able to physically keep up with the requirements. I got to be careful, I don’t want to give anything away but yeah, it’s always very thorough and very beneficial to anyone who needs it. For me, it’s been more of maintaining a healthy baseline of where my body is at. I just made sure that I was eating as healthy as possible and getting as much sleep as I could. Doing a lot of yoga and stretching. Aegon puts a lot of tension in my body and I found myself getting very stiff. He walks different from me and moves different from me. It was important for me to stay loose, stay centred and flexible as best I can.
The amazing cast of House of the Dragon seems to get on really well. Do you have a particular favourite sparring partner on screen?
Everyone’s brilliant. I cannot choose one actor, because they’re all fantastic. But I would probably like to point out that Matthew Needham, who plays Larys Strong, is one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with. He is absolutely amazing and every take is different. We keep each other on our toes. We’re always throwing curveballs at each other and trying to catch each other off guard. But he’s a great sparring partner and you’ve always got to be on the front foot with him. There’s so much detail to his work and there’s just an endless, bottomless well of nuance to everything he does.
House of the Dragon Season 2 will be available to stream on HBO GO from 17 June.
