Paddy Considine realized he couldn’t just play any monarch when he was cast as King Viserys Targaryen in “House of the Dragon”. Instead, he remembered his mother.
Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys I Targaryen on HBO’s “House of the Dragon”, says he got his inspiration from his mother. HBO is preparing to return to Westeros for its first highly awaited spinoff more than three years after Game of Thrones came to an end on the network. “House of the Dragon“, which starts this August, transports fans to a magical realm hundreds of years before Game of Thrones. The series will go into the Targaryen family’s history, including the Dance of the Dragons civil war.
Viserys is on the throne when “House of the Dragon” begins. However, as everyone who has seen Game of Thrones knows, there will undoubtedly be some power shifts by the conclusion of the series. Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans round out the ensemble cast. Unlike Game of Thrones, which drew on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire trilogy for its stories and characters, “House of the Dragon” will be based on his novel Fire & Blood.
In a recent interview with The Independent, Considine revealed that he got some unexpected inspiration for his portrayal of King Viserys. He recognized he couldn’t approach the job solely as a monarch, preferring instead to adopt a more personal approach. With that in mind, Considine went to a person who was extremely familiar to him: his mother. He stated,
“The last thing you do when you play a king is go, ‘I’m the king.’ All you’ve got to do is be you, a human, and be compassionate. Lose the crown, lose the pomp, lose the bulls***, just play the person. And when I played Viserys Targaryen, I just played my mum, you know. That’s what I played – my mother.
“She was just an anchor for me. I loved her very much. But she was a woman who became very, very sick. She had diabetes. She lost sight in both of her eyes. And she lost both of her legs. She was in a terrible, terrible state. But I think she hid inside her illness, and that made it worse for her.”
“It was a lot for us and everyone around to care for her, whereas she needed to care for herself, too. And that’s what this character does, eventually, you know… he becomes very sick and hides in his illness.”
So far, HBO has only released a few photographs and an early teaser trailer for “House of the Dragon”. As a consequence, fans are still waiting to see what type of monarch Viserys Targaryen will be played by Considine. Viserys is a compassionate and tranquil monarch, according to Martin’s canon, therefore Considine’s wish to portray him in a milder light makes sense. He’s a very different type of monarch than the ones shown in Game of Thrones, which makes his reign intriguing. Considine’s ability to convert something so personal to him – his mother’s demeanor and health difficulties – into a meaningful representation of a fictitious character is fascinating.
Considine’s remarks just add to the intrigue of “House of the Dragon”. He’s definitely put a lot of effort into his role, and seeing his very personal performance come to life will be a rewarding experience to see. In Westeros, good, powerful people don’t always prosper, and Viserys’ own family is full of shady characters. “House of the Dragon” promises to be an exciting adventure for his character, and spectators will be able to see it in just a few months.