George R.R. Martin Reacts to Paddy Considine's Viserys, And It's Not What You'd Expect
At the beginning of House of the Dragon, few people could expect that King Viserys could be their favorite character — and look where we are now.
Paddy Considine's King Viserys Tagraryen has unexpectedly become one of the least controversial figures in House of the Dragon. Surrounded by morally grey characters busy with plots, intrigues, murders, and royal squabbles, Viserys seemed like he only wanted two things in the world: peace for his family, and that makeshift Westeros model in his chambers.
According to Considine, it took him a while to bring his own vision to George R.R. Martin's character, who was written to be quite passive and maybe even not as likable as his screen version.
"I felt like my job was to serve Viserys, and I took it seriously. But for a while, people were unsure," Considine told GQ in a new interview.
However, it looks like his efforts have paid off, as Martin himself happened to drop him a text message with his opinion about Considine's work.
"I got a text message that simply said: 'Your Viserys is better than my Viserys'. It was from George RR Martin. And I thought: that'll do it. Thanks for trusting me," the actor recalled.
It is not only the author of the saga who applauded Considine's work. After Viserys bowed out in episode 8, succumbing to his disease, fans could not be more emotional. Some of them even demanded that Considine receive an Emmy nomination for his House of the Dragon performance.
King Viserys' demise, however, will inevitably lead to the Targaryen civil war, known as Dance of the Dragons, especially now that his wife Alicent believes that her son Aegon is "the prince that was promised".
Just how things are going to unfold we are about to know in the upcoming two episodes of the show. House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering every Sunday. The finale will air on October 23.