The Game of Thrones spinoff is no short supply of menacing and unhinged characters.
The second season of the Game of Thrones spinoff series House of the Dragon is all set to premiere on June 16. The HBO drama series is a prequel to the hit TV show and focuses on the Targaryens. The show’s first season received rave reviews and even won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama.
Ewan Mitchell plays the role of Aemond Targaryen, an unhinged and unpredictable member of the Targaryen clan. While he drew eyes for his impressive performance in the first season, his role seems to be fleshed out more in the second, teasing more of his antics in the show. Mitchell revealed that he was inspired by three popular horror film villains for his role.
House of the Dragon Star Was Inspired By Popular ‘80s Horror Movie Villains
Ewan Mitchell in House of the Dragon | Credits: GRRM/Bastard Sword/1:26 Pictures Inc./HBO Entertainment
The spinoff series House of the Dragon was one of the few shows based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novel series that was greenlit by HBO. After the success of Game of Thrones, many shows were in development building on the popularity of the fantasy series. However, House of the Dragon remained the only show to be fully developed.
The prequel is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, focusing on the fall of House Targaryen, who ruled the Seven Kingdoms. The show boasts of multiple unhinged characters such as Matt Smith’s Daemon and Ewan Mitchell’s Aemond Targaryen. The latter has particularly been received well among fans of the series due to Mitchell’s performance.
A still from Halloween | Credits: Compass International Pictures/Falcon International Productions
The actor is set to return in the second season of the show which will soon premiere. In an interview with Movie Zine, Ewan Mitchell spoke about how he built more on the character this season. Due to his costume having an eye patch, the actor revealed that he had to compensate with more physicality and hence took inspiration from horror film villains.
I took inspiration from a lot of ‘80s horror icons [such as] Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger, and…Pinhead from Hellraiser. You know, characters that may not necessarily say that much but they have such an impending kind of presence that is quite…it’s that fear of inevitability.
He mentioned how he was fascinated by the physicality of someone like Michael Myers, who would slowly walk while chasing the protagonist but would still catch up to them. He said that he tapped into such qualities to bring out his performance.
Ewan Mitchell Loves His Eyepatch In House of the Dragon
A still from House of the Dragon | Credits: GRRM/Bastard Sword/1:26 Pictures Inc./HBO Entertainment
One of the characteristics of Ewan Mitchell in House of Dragon is his badass eye patch. He uses the patch to cover the Sapphire diamond in place of his eye. The actor mentioned that he was a huge fan of the eyepatch as it added a lot more menace to his role as Aemond Targaryen. The actor also mentioned that it made him claustrophobic.
Speaking to ComicBook.com about the role, Mitchell mentioned that the eyepatch was the cherry on top for his character. He said,
I love the eye patch. That’s probably my favorite prop on the show, for sure. You know, when the eye patch goes on … it kind of makes it a little more claustrophobic for me … It’s like the cherry on top.
Working on the show is such a transformative experience for me as an actor from the costume and the hair and makeup and like I was saying, the eye patch is the cherry on top. Which do I think looks more badass? The gemstone or the eye patch. It’s got to be the gemstone for sure.
Aemond Targaryen is known for being a vicious warrior and is set to be even more unhinged in his appearance in the next season of House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon is set to premiere on HBO on June 16.
