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By the end of “House of the Dragon” season two, Aegon Targaryen is at his lowest point. Still, he’s on the up-and-up — and by that, we mean sensibly running away from danger, rather than flying toward it on dragonback.
In season one, Aegon reluctantly assumed the Iron Throne, set to preside over a brutal succession war caused by his own coronation. Surprisingly, he takes a shine to the role. Still, it doesn’t come without personal tragedy: In the season two premiere, two assassins murder Aegon’s young son. In episode four, determined to assert himself, he flies to Rook’s Rest to participate in the battle. Unfortunately, his younger brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) takes it as an opportunity to grievously wound him in the crossfire.
By the finale, Aegon is a changed man physically and mentally. There are his injuries, which have forced him to acclimate to his newfound physical disability. But more insidious is the growing realization that his allies are dwindling and the duplicitous Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) may be the only person he can lean on. Before battle can come to King’s Landing, Larys convinces Aegon to flee so he can one day return triumphant after the fighting ends.
Throughout it all, Tom Glynn-Carney has embodied Aegon in a way that makes you sympathize with him despite his numerous — numerous — less savory qualities.
The actor spoke with Business Insider about Aegon’s decision to leave King’s Landing, his relationship with Aemond and his mother Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and how much he loves seeing his friend Fabien Frankel, who plays Ser Criston Cole, on a horse.
I’d love to start by breaking down Aegon’s decision to leave King’s Landing with Larys. As you were working on those sequences with Matthew Needham, how did you approach getting him to the point where he would make that decision?
Well, I think he wasn’t given a great deal of options, and this seemed to be an option where the least amount of collateral damage would occur. It’s survival instinct, I think, at the moment. And Larys has proved himself to be somebody who Aegon can trust, at least for now.
I think Aegon would bite his hand off for that opportunity to get out of there. And he can’t do it on his own, either. So Larys was his ticket out.
There’s a very memorable moment in episode eight where Aegon brings up his penis, which was damaged in battle, as Larys speaks to him. Is that a deflection, or is he at rock bottom, or both?
I didn’t see it as deflecting at all. I thought it was pure rock bottom, like you say. I think he felt like he had nothing to lose, and his dignity went out of the window very early on due to his injuries. And I think he’s just acknowledging and coming to terms with the fact that he’s changed. I don’t think those changes are fully sunk in yet, but I think the more he speaks about them — it’s like, when you speak about something, you breathe it into existence, don’t you?
I think that’s the first time he’s acknowledged that about himself. And as we all know, Aegon found a lot of use for that part of his body. So I think he’s going to have to reevaluate how he spends his spare time.
I want to talk about Aegon’s physicality in the back half of the season, after he sustains these injuries. When you were signing on to “House of the Dragon,” how much did you know about this phase of the character, and how did you feel about that when you were first approaching him?
I knew that he would be a challenge to wrestle into submission, but it was a challenge that I was more than willing to take on. I’ve absolutely loved every minute of it. I think he’s the gift that keeps on giving.
And even though his physicality has changed now, I don’t particularly think for him, in terms of how unpredictable and how volatile he is — I don’t think that’s going to change at all. If anything, there will be more. So I’m really looking forward to getting back on season three, and taking him on this next chapter of his journey and really pushing the boundaries even more with him this time.
Can you tell me a bit about the process of getting into the prosthetics and makeup as his injuries heal?
To be honest, it is all down to my amazing team that I had around me the entire time, who were just absolute masters at what they do. We’ve got Amanda Knight and Waldo Mason, Hannah Eccleston, so many people around me who apply and design these pieces, and build this version of Aegon. I get the easy job, really. I just have to sit in the chair and let them do it. But these guys are just absolutely phenomenal, and they should be getting more praise.
But it really informs my performance, the way that we’ve all collaborated on designing these pieces. They’d come in with some prototypes and try it on, and I’d be asking for certain parts of it to be tighter or to come to certain parts of my body to restrict movement even more, just so it informs performance and allows me to really feel the restrictions that he’s now having to deal with. It’s such a wonderfully collaborative process that I was very honored to be allowed to be a part of.
All the different stages of his recovery have been really taxing to play consistently, and play accordingly to where we’re at. But I’m really looking forward now to being in a semi-permanent state, you know, of his state for season three, and see how that helps and see what that changes.
Alicent makes the very difficult decision to sell Aegon out to Rhaenyra in the finale. Do you think that’s something that crossed his mind as a possibility?
I think there was always potential for her to betray him. I felt like everybody’s egg timer is running out, isn’t it? And Alicent was very much on her final grains of sand at that point. It was about time that she probably jumped ship and saved herself. She’s a very, very intelligent woman, and she is a survivor.
It’s just testament, isn’t it? How much of a survivor she is that she’ll throw her own kids under the bus. But yeah, maybe if they meet again at some point down the line, they can have a conversation and she can apologize. But I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I think that’s probably a different show, isn’t it?
I spoke with Ewan earlier, and he said that Aemond and Alicent would go have piña coladas on the beach in Dorne after all this is over.
Oh, I’m going to the south of France, not Dorne.
Speaking of Aemond, his and Aegon’s relationship shifts very quickly this season. How did you and Ewan approach those changes, particularly after Rook’s Rest?
These two have been at each other’s throats for their entire life, and it now feels like everything’s come to a head, and Aemond’s finally plucked up the balls to do something about it. I think it’s now a sibling rivalry on a different level.
There’s absolutely no element of Aegon that trusts Aemond at all now. I think that Aemond has his eyes on the prize and will stop at nothing to get it. Aegon has to come back and fight fire with fire, so may the best man win.
During a conversation that Aegon isn’t privy to, Helaena prophecies that he’ll rule again one day. Do you think he’s guided by any true belief that he’ll return to the throne, or be beloved by the people?
I think what Aegon has is something that is far more present rather than looking too far into the future. He’s a survivalist, and he feels so betrayed on so many levels, by so many people, that there’s more of a steely stubbornness to him now, and he’s taking it day by day. And I think that’s where his strength lies, that we just take it one day at a time.
He’s got this inferno of fiery revenge burning inside him, his bitterness that keeps him awake at night. I think he’s going to use that to fuel him, and not get too caught up with the whole end-game scenario.
Is there a particular choice that you’re really proud of this season, or something that you’ve been dying to get asked about?
Fabien Frankel and his ability to look unbelievably heroic on a horse. Honestly. I mean, love the boy to bits anyway, but seeing him mount a horse and gallop off with all that armor, my god — if I had ovaries, Jesus Christ.
Fabien is amazing. Criston, maybe less so.
But I’m not seeing — because I’m seeing Fabien on a horse. I’m only watching it because my mates are in it, and I’m a fan of the show, so I’m like, “Well, I’m watching my mate jump on a horse there. That’s absolutely class.”
And he’s so good at it! I know he says he’s riding on the back of a trailer or whatever, but my God, I think that’s even harder to make it look like a proper horse. Fabien deserves more airtime.
Did you ever feel like that when you were getting on mechanical dragonback?
Yeah. Well, less so, because it’s mechanical. I’d love to ride a real horse in the show. Maybe that’s something I put toward the showrunners for next time. Please, can I ride a horse?
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
“House of the Dragon” season two, including the finale, is now streaming on Max.
