The Game of Thrones TV show has made household names out of a ton of established British and European actors, from Charles Dance to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, from Carice van Houten to Kristofer Hivju. And it looks like the prequel show, House of the Dragon, will carry on that fine tradition: As per Entertainment Weekly, it’s found its lead in no less than stellar English character actor Paddy Considine.
The show will draw from the House Targaryen chronicled in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, focusing on the ruling family 300 years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones. Considine will play King Viserys Targaryen, who is not to be confused with Daenerys’s brother from the Song of Ice and Fire books. The show will depict the storied Targaryen civil war that divided Westeros. As for Considine’s character, he already has a short bio, provided to EW:
“King Viserys Targaryen is chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings.”
You’ve almost certainly seen Considine before — plenty of times, in fact. He’s popped up in blockbusters like The Bourne Supremacy, in crossover British exports like In America and The Death of Stalin, in Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. More recently he had one of the main roles on The Outsider, HBO’s recent hit Stephen King adaptation, as well as the new Jude Law miniseries The Third Day. Last year he was nominated for a Tony for the acclaimed play The Ferryman. For now, enjoy one of his funnier scenes, opposite Simon Pegg and Rafe Spahl, from Hot Fuzz:
(Via EW)
