How was your experience filming the fight scene with the big dragon?
Cool, man. It’s like a boy’s dream. It’s just something you think of as a kid as the coolest thing in the world. And it really is. They basically put a screen around you so you know where to look: what’s expected, what’s coming at you, what’s going away. Your whole field of vision is pretty clear. And then in the middle of that, you’re clad in armor that’s been crafted by some amazing craftsmen. But then you’re hunched over this big saddle, strapped in tight, feeling like you can’t move. That crane really has to do a lot of work to make it look like you’re moving.
At the beginning of the season, Aegon said that Aemond was his closest confidant, and by episode four, Aemond was basically trying to kill him. Where do they stand now? And what is your relationship with Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond?
Well, the relationship between Aegon and Aemond was very different from the relationship between Tom and Ewan. Say that. [laughs].
Hey, that’s sibling rivalry at its most intense, right? That’s the kind of sudden change that can happen when someone feels pushed out or someone feels like there’s been an injustice. I’ve always felt like Aemond found himself in that position of power and handled it better than Aegon would have. But then, his birth certificate says otherwise. It was bound to happen at some point, right?
Are there any particular scenes that you find more challenging or exciting?
He’s never in the same mental state twice in the same day. He’s all over the place. Keeping up with his mood swings is the hard part, and that’s what I had to really focus on. There wasn’t one particular scene where I thought, Oh my God, not this one, because they were all challenging in different ways. Even the scenes where he’s more still and focused were hard, because you have this very fast Aegon rhythm inside of you. It’s very different for me. It’s about maintaining that, but still keeping the tension of the scene. I relished the opportunity to play someone who has such a wide range of abilities and creative potential from an acting perspective.
Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent, has noted that you two aren’t that far apart in age, but still play mother and son. How did you two work together to create that bonding dynamic?
Every scene I had with Olivia, there was never a moment that wasn’t perfect. Everything was so complex and so deeply rooted in her. She meant everything she said. That’s a rare skill. As an actress, she has so much of that. It was a gift to be able to work with her, to play her son.
Yes, [it’s] It’s funny. She’s only a year older than me. I think we do it because we get along so well. We’re also friends, you know. I love Olivia so much. Trust her completely. We laugh. We don’t take it too seriously. We have that in common. But then, in the moments when work is happening, that’s all we care about. We care so much. It’s one of those things where in our downtime, after we wrap up, we can go for a drink. We can laugh. We connect on a personal level as well as a professional level. I think that’s what makes for a healthy, trusting relationship in terms of performance.
There’s a funny scene where Aegon sits with the boys and talks about his nickname. Should he be “Aegon the Brave”, “Aegon the Whatever”, etc. What do you think he should be called?
Probably Aegon’s toast.
