‘Home of the Dragon’s Abubakar Salim on Alyn’s relationship with Corlys: ‘He is haunted by him’

Fatherhood has performed a big position in Abubakar Salim’s work over the previous few years.

From 2020 to 2022, the actor and recreation developer starred in Raised by Wolves as Father, an android elevating human kids on planet Kepler-22b. In 2024, his online game studio Surgent Studios launched Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a side-scroller a couple of shaman on a quest to revive his father. As inventive lead on Zau, Salim drew on his grief for his personal late father, describing the sport as “a piece of art that honored him” at the 2023 Sport Awards.

Now, Salim tackles a really completely different form of father-son relationship in Home of the Dragon. He performs Alyn of Hull, bastard youngster of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and brother to newly minted dragonrider Addam (Clinton Liberty). At the beginning of Season 2, Corlys and Alyn’s relationship is distant, extra that between a boss and an worker. However since Alyn saved Corlys’ life offscreen throughout the occasions of Season 1, Corlys has begun paying extra consideration to him. In episode 6, he makes Alyn his first mate. In episode 7, he duties him with recruiting bastard Targaryens in King’s Touchdown to be new dragonriders for Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). Ever so slowly, Corlys is bringing Alyn into the sunshine — however is it too little, too late?

In an interview with Mashable, Salim mentioned the similarities between Zau and Home of the Dragon, Alyn’s difficult relationship with Corlys, and the surprisingly difficult shaving scene from episode 6.

The next interview has been edited and condensed for readability.

Mashable: To start out, I noticed you tweet that there was a line you preferred a lot in episode 6 that you simply “borrowed” it and put it in Zau. What was the road, and what was it about it that resonated with you sufficient that you simply introduced it to your recreation?

It was “You make an art of provoking me,” [which Alyn says to Addam]. I keep in mind studying it and being like, “Oh, that is the story of my life.” It is virtually such as you’re having fun with the truth that somebody is scary you, although they’re pushing your buttons. It was only a actually highly effective line that carries this ingredient of, “I can respect it, but at the same time I’m really annoyed by it.”

You had been directing Zau on the similar time that you simply had been capturing Home of the Dragon. Each tasks have attention-grabbing hyperlinks to fatherhood. Did you ever discover your work on one undertaking influencing the opposite?

Completely. Each take care of absent fathers, and so they are available in every kind of varieties. In Zau, you will have a father who was liked dearly and handed away too quickly. In Home of the Dragon, you will have a father who virtually handed away with none sense of acknowledgment. However the ghost of them nonetheless haunts you. It was actually attention-grabbing that I used to be directing this recreation about my relationship with my father to a level, and likewise having a really completely different relationship with the daddy on set of Home of the Dragon. They each actually sung with each other.

I believe that is why the road “You make an art of provoking me” actually caught with me. As a result of who else is aware of how higher to harass you than your individual father, you already know? I ship the road to Addam, nevertheless it applies to all of your kin.

Inform me about constructing that household relationship with Alyn and Corlys and Addam.

When Alyn appears to be like at Corlys, there is a haunting ingredient of, “No, his father is dead.” His father does not exist in his eyes, however he is haunted by him. He simply follows orders for his boss, who occurs to even be his father.

I’ve learn the books and did a whole lot of excited about how Alyn is meant to be 15. He is imagined to be younger, boisterous — a special man to the man that I am enjoying on-screen. That, to me, is attention-grabbing, as a result of it signifies that he is needed to stay with all of this baggage for thus a few years. The entire relationship with Corlys is meant to be transactional, however there’s this deep craving for love that, though it is buried deep, nonetheless exists.

Alyn places that love and that form of significance on Addam. He loves his brother dearly, cares for him, and does not need him to to be in any type of hazard. Hell, now he is on a dragon. [Laughs] It is, like, probably the most harmful factor.

You talked about the sense of bags, and there is a lot left unsaid between Alyn and Corlys. Once you had been first approaching the character of Alyn, how had been you envisioning and creating his backstory?

I noticed him as at all times working on the shipyard earlier than Addam was born, form of protecting to himself. I believe he was very a lot an Addam sort of character, wanting and craving for excellent, massive issues and pondering that his life would change. He in all probability by no means wished to chop his hair, although his mom in all probability compelled him to take action, as a result of the risk in your life is way greater when you find yourself a bastard. There’s additionally a way of ready for his father to come back again and take him and his mom away from the shitty life that they’d. However that by no means occurred, so he threw himself into work.

Then, as soon as Addam got here into play, that means that Corlys got here again, solely to desert them once more. I believe that was the killer. That is the place his coronary heart broke.

Funnily sufficient, there was an identical factor that occurred to me when my father handed, the thought of being like, “Okay, I’ve got to be the man of the house now. I’ve got to make sure that everyone’s fine; I’ve got to make the money, got to do everything, and keep everyone happy.” That is basically the position that Alyn took, and he was going to be the anchor of the area.

What does it imply for him, in spite of everything that, listening to from Corlys that Addam is a dragonrider now?

Mashable High Tales

It is scary, as a result of it is such a change. It is the other of what he was ready for. He is simply heard of Princess Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys dying, so there’s the mentality that they don’t seem to be gods, they’re mortals. And if the Greens can do this to Rhaenys, what are they going to do to Addam?

So when Corlys tells Alyn, “Maybe you should have a look and give claiming a dragon a try,” I believe 15-year-old Alyn would have, whereas proper now, Alyn could not consider something worse.

Rhaenys is an advanced determine in Alyn’s life. How does Alyn really feel about her passing?

Loss of life is at all times onerous and saddening, nevertheless it’s additionally simply part of life. With Rhaenys, it is virtually like listening to of a neighbor passing, in a means. Even politically, I believe Alyn thinks that the entire conflict is a bit foolish and silly, to be sincere. He is very conscious that it isn’t the lives of these larger up which might be at stake. It is the lowborn people who find themselves going to be sacrificing themselves for a petty household squabble.

Now that his brother’s within the mixture of it, it is even worse. It is much more scary. That does not imply that Alyn does not need to interact within the conflict. He has a sense of loyalty to Corlys, and to the ocean, basically. However he does not need his brother to be part of that.

In episode 7, we lastly get the Sowing of the Seeds, and Alyn performs a little bit of a task because the recruiter of the Targaryen bastards in King’s Touchdown. What goes by way of his head when he will get this request from Corlys, as a bastard himself?

He is similar to, “Yeah, sure, I’ll do it. Whatever. As long as you pay me, I’ll do it.” I do not suppose he cares a lot for it. He does what he is informed to do… His strongest but weakest trait is his loyalty, which, in the event you’ve learn Hearth & Blood —

I used to be going to say, “Oh no!”

[Laughs] Yeah. However with Corlys’ request, his response comes from no matter will maintain Addam protected. Give it some thought: If we get extra dragons on our facet, that signifies that Addam is much less prone to die. Unbelievable! He is at all times appearing with the considered, “How should I keep my brother safe and not involved in this madness as much as possible?”

I really like that brotherly bond that Alyn and Addam share. Since each you and Clinton Liberty are coming onto this massive ensemble present as new characters, what was it like working collectively and creating this relationship?

Oh, good. I really like Clinton. There’s a such a love and delightful adoration for the artwork that I see in Clinton that actually jogs my memory of how nice all the things is, and the way good these things is. We’re enjoying on the finish of the day. We’re children, you already know, enjoying Dungeons and Dragons, mainly. And Clinton is such a drive, simply such a superb, good human being. Forging the connection between us was really easy.

And what was it like working with Steve Toussaint, as somebody who’s a veteran of the present already?

I used to be frightened, man. You see him on-screen, you are like, “This guy’s a force. Like an actual unit.” However what’s nice is he is truly probably the most welcoming, grounded human being you’ll ever meet. He simply does his factor. And dealing with Steve, I realized a hell of so much. I realized to simply benefit from the scene, benefit from the time.

There’s at all times a worry as an actor of coming right into a present when the entire staff is there, as a result of you then really feel a bit just like the outsider. However everybody has been so welcoming and made us really feel as if we have been there from the get-go.

You had been additionally in Raised by Wolves, one other massive style present. What was one thing you realized from that set that you simply dropped at Home of the Dragon’s?

What I’ve taken from it’s the ardour and love from all departments on a undertaking. We’re all a staff right here, proper? Nobody’s particular. You possibly can actually really feel that.

On Raised by Wolves, you have bought Ridley Scott, who’s given me and Amanda [Collin] — I am not essentially saying that we’re unknowns, however we weren’t actually recognized — an opportunity. However there was no sense of, “Why should we lead a show?” We had been all simply aiming for a similar factor, which is telling a narrative. That displays and resonates with Home of the Dragon as properly. We’re not right here to be stars or be particular; we simply need to get pleasure from and do our jobs. So I would say carrying that mentality of not making an attempt to take the limelight and being a staff participant has been a beautiful tip.

Did you and Amanda, who performs Jeyne Arryn on Home of the Dragon, get an opportunity to reunite in any respect on the set?

We undoubtedly crossed paths, which was actually pretty. We had been actually hoping for scenes collectively. It might have been so nice, as a result of she’s so nice to work reverse with. After I was watching the episodes and listening to her, the very first thing I did was message her [to say], “Your accent is amazing!”

I noticed within the behind-the-scenes video for episode 6 that the scene the place you shave your head was very technically demanding. Once you’re becoming a member of a present of this scale, did you ever suppose, “Shaving is going to be the toughest thing for me to deal with”?

No, by no means! However to be sincere, it is nice. It is so humorous, after Raised by Wolves, they will throw something at me, and I adore it. In that present, I needed to have make-up, painted contacts, dyed ginger hair, and the silver bloody go well with. So me placing glue on my head and shaving was like a dream. I used to be questioning how the hell they had been going to drag off the shaving, however that is the ability of an incredible crew: They’ll determine it out.

Any shot that you’ve my face in, I’ve glue on my head with sprinkles of the Velaryon blonde hair. I would be shaving it, and the water would basically wipe the glue off. However any shut up with the precise sharp blade was another person’s head, and my barber’s fingers are slicing it. They introduced within the barber I at all times go to, and he coached me on the way to shave. He made it seem like that is one thing that I do on a regular basis.

That is unbelievable. And eventually, are you able to tease something for what the Season 2 finale would possibly maintain for Alyn?

You are undoubtedly going to see one thing completely different.

There is a shot of him within the trailer, the place he is in armor and on a ship. And each week, I am like, “Where is it?”

I keep in mind seeing that within the trailer and being like, “Guys, come on. Everyone’s gonna be looking for that.” You may simply have to attend and see, nevertheless it’s considered one of my favourite scenes all through the present.

The season finale of Home of the Dragon airs Aug. 4 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.