The actor wanted to remain ‘separate’ from his co-star (Picture: HBO)
House of the Dragon star Ewan Mitchell has revealed that when he was on set with Matt Smith, he made a point to avoid the Doctor Who legend completely.
In the first season of the Game of Thrones spin-off, when Ewan was introduced as the older version of Aemond Targaryen, he proved himself as a formidable character, with impressive fighting capabilities and the enormous dragon Vhagar at his disposal.
However, even Aemond appeared intimidated when he came face-to-face with his uncle Daemon Targaryen (Matt), during a tense family meal.
At the London premiere for season two, Metro.co.uk spoke to Ewan about the possibility of Aemond and Daemon having a reunion at some point in the future, considering they’re on opposite sides of the impending battle for the Iron Throne.
During a previous interview, Ewan, 27, explained the measures that he took when he knew that he and Matt, 41, were going to have a face-off in episode eight of the first season.
‘I did something on Dragon that was the first choice I made on my first day,’ he told The Face magazine in March 2023.
Referencing showrunner Ryan Condal, he shared: ‘I said to Ryan: “I’ve got this idea of avoiding Matt Smith and [even] avoiding eye contact.”’
Discussing the ‘intense stare-down’ that came in episode eight, he continued: ‘I thought there was something in experimenting and saving that moment for then.
‘Aemond idolises Daemon, and this is the first time that he makes any sort of contact with him. Their family tree is actually a circle!’
Ewan recalled how Ryan agreed to this idea, on the condition that Matt would also be on board – which he was.
Ewan put on a suave display at the House of the Dragon London premiere in a velvet coat (Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Matt opted for a dark blue suit and matching shirt (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
This, therefore, allowed the actor to ‘keep that separation’, so that ‘I never saw Matt and I only ever saw Daemon’.
Fortunately, Ewan’s method-acting plan did work, as their stare-down was one for the ages.
Looking ahead to season two, Daemon and Aemond are now in completely different places – the former on Dragonstone with his wife, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and the latter in King’s Landing with the rest of his family, the Greens.
Fans would surely love to see the pair of them come face to face once again in future, perhaps for a full-out sparring match, so could it be a possibility?
‘Trust me, [Daemon] doesn’t want that,’ Ewan told Metro.co.uk at the season two premiere.
Ewan reckons Daemon would fight ‘ugly’ in a duel against Aemond (Picture: HBO)
Is Aemond capable of taking down his uncle? (Picture: HBO)
‘He doesn’t want to meet Aemond Targaryen, especially on a battlefield. I feel like if those two guys were ever to fight, Daemon would want to make it ugly, he would take his time with it, whereas Aemond, it’d be over in a second.’
A warning for Daemon Targaryen, we joked.
‘He doesn’t want the smoke, trust me,’ the actor added. Fighting words!
So who do you think would win in a duel, Daemon or Aemond? Will the power of their dragons come into play, or would the duo go for hand-to-hand combat?
We’ll have to wait and see if Ewan’s prediction comes true.
House of the Dragon season 2 is set to premiere on Monday June 17.
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