Ewan Mitchell has explained the creative process behind his nude scene on House of the Dragon.
The British actor, who plays Aemond Targaryen, made his full frontal debut in the latest episode of the Game of Thrones spin-off, a decision that he said wasn’t “made lightly”.
In an interview with Vulture, Mitchell said the scene is “true” to his character, “that he shocks the audience”, adding that “weakness is not part of Aemond’s vocabulary”.
“Aegon catches Aemond in a vulnerable spot. Picking up the script for the first time and seeing those brothel scenes in episodes two and three, I saw a brilliant opportunity to offer a rare glimpse of his vulnerability,” he explained.
“You only ever see him in his Targaryen blacks, so to see him in that world — not only that but then humiliated by his brother — is quite shocking.”
Speaking with Variety, director Geeta Patel praised Mitchell and assured readers that he was comfortable with the scene.
“Ewan is such a great actor. He understands what he needs to do in order to portray Aemond,” she said.
“When I spoke with him originally about the nudity, I said to him, ‘Let’s just go through the story. If you don’t feel comfortable being nude, then you’re not going to be nude.’ We were both on the same page.’”
Patel continued to dive into why Aemond’s full frontal moment was significant to his story, saying he shifted from “someone who’s vulnerable to literally watching him put on his armour”.
“It’s one of the few times you see the young child in him and you see the pain in him. Slowly he starts putting on his armour and when he stands up, the fact that he doesn’t care that you see his penis is such a strong visceral shift,” she said.
Patel then confirmed that Mitchell insisted on not wearing prosthetics: “Ewan was like, ‘I want to be fully nude in that moment. It’s important to me because that’s who my character is. That’s what he would do.’ And that’s what we did.”
The second season of House of the Dragon sees the return of Emma D’Arcy (Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Queen Alicent Hightower), Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen), Rhys Ifans (Ser Otto Hightower), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Princess Rhaenys Targaryen) and Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria).
More star power incoming: Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole), Matthew Needham (Lord Larys Strong), Harry Collett (Prince Jacaerys Velaryon), Tom Glynn-Carney (King Aegon II Targaryen), Phia Saban (Queen Helaena Targaryen), Bethany Antonia (Lady Baela Targaryen) and Phoebe Campbell (Lady Rhaena Targaryen).
The official synopsis for season two reads: “With Westeros on the brink of a bloody civil war with Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra respectively, viewers will see the house that dragons built and learn how they tore it all down.”
In a junket with GAY TIMES, D’Arcy and Cooke reflected on the themes of season two – including ‘grief, losing power and a potential civil war’ – while the former reflected on the significance of being a non-binary lead in one of television’s most championed franchises.
“Being a gender nonconforming person on screen feels like a real privilege because when I was younger, I thought that if I were to be able to act as my job, it would be quite separate from my identity, and maybe they would remain separate,” D’Arcy explained.
“I didn’t know if it would be possible for those to overlap and be in conversation with one another.”
House of the Dragon is streaming in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
