Well, here’s one thing House of the Dragon has in common with the original Game of Thrones: apparently, a ton of sex.
Matt Smith, the Doctor Who veteran who stars as Prince Daemon Targaryen in the HBO prequel series, got candid about his character’s intimate scenes in the show with Rolling Stone U.K. And he personally thinks there’s “slightly too much” of it all.
“You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?'” Smith said. “And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’ I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we’re living in]?’ And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.”
When asked if he has his fair share of bedroom scenes, he replied, “Yeah — slightly too much, if you ask me.” But hey, this may be good news for anyone who enjoys Smith without his shirt on!
The actor previously told EW that, unlike some of his costars, he had watched the original Game of Thrones. So if he feels there’s too much sex, then maybe there is.
EW did see the premiere episode of House of the Dragon and can confirm that we get a sex scene from Smith’s Daemon pretty early on.
Ollie Upton/HBO Matt Smith’s Prince Daemon Targaryen dons jousting armor in HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon.’
House of the Dragon takes place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones at a time when the Targaryen empire was at its apex in Westeros. It’s the story of how this once lavish and powerful dynasty came crashing down after… what else? The succession of the Iron Throne.
As the brother of King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), Prince Daemon has a claim to the throne. But when the Protector of the Realms can’t conceive a male heir, he names his first-born, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, his sole heir. (Milly Alcock will first play Rhaenyra as a teen before Emma D’Arcy picks up the role of adult Rhaenyra down the line.) The Lords of Westeros swear her fealty, but the matter becomes even more complicated when, in later years, Viserys marries again and conceives a son, the young Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). The empire becomes split in two, leading to a devastating civil war called the Dance of the Dragons.
The show’s sexual depictions have become a talking point ahead of House of the Dragon‘s premiere. Miguel Sapochnik, a co-showrunner and director on the series, told The Hollywood Reporter that the producers had approached sexual violence on screen “carefully, thoughtfully,” but added, “[We] don’t shy away from it. If anything, we’re going to shine a light on that aspect. You can’t ignore the violence that was perpetrated on women by men in that time. It shouldn’t be downplayed and it shouldn’t be glorified.”
After some public criticism, executive producer Sara Hess clarified to Vanity Fair, “We do not depict sexual violence in the show. We handle one instance off-screen, and instead show the aftermath and impact on the victim and the mother of the perpetrator. I think what our show does, and what I’m proud of, is that we choose to focus on the violence against women that is inherent in a patriarchal system.”
House of the Dragon premieres Aug. 21 on HBO.
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