30 Things You Didn't Know About House of the Dragon

The author behind the novels HBO adapted to create Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, drew inspiration for the House of the Dragon plot from the English Civil War of the 12th century. He was particularly interested in the battle for the throne that occurred between King Henry I's daughter Matilda and her cousin, Stephen.

The staggering number officially makes House of the Dragon the most-watched series premiere in HBO history.

In the five days following its debut, House of the Dragon had 20 million viewers. No wonder HBO renewed it almost immediately.

April 2021 was the "Iron Anniversary" (or 10-year celebration) of Game of Thrones. What was HBO's gift to fans? Its first tease of House of the Dragon, which had just begun filming.

If that iconic seat looks different to you, there's a reason. To better fit the description of the throne in George R.R. Martin's novels, the new prop was designed to be larger and asymmetrical.

The actor who plays Prince Daemon Targaryen in HOTD and Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen in GoT) were both in 2015's Terminator Genisys. And, yes, she did offer up a warning about the hair and makeup. Smith told Jake's Takes: "I spoke to Emilia about that years ago, and she's like, 'God, I have to go through an hour-and-a-half every day of putting the wig on.'"

But he was never booked. "I was just hardly ever seen for it," he revealed to Entertainment Weekly. Now, he plays one of the most powerful people in Westeros in House of the Dragon, Corlys Velaryon. "I'm glad I got this rather than that," he said.

True GoT fans would recognize this dagger anywhere. It was previously used in one of the most important scenes in the final season. No spoilers, but here's a hint: It involves Arya.

Milly Alcock, for instance, was 21 years old when she portrayed 15-year-old Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen on the show—but in the books, the character was only 9 years old at the same point in the plot.

Showrunners couldn't imagine anyone else in the lead role's white-blond wig. "Matt is really the only person we talked about," showrunner Ryan Condal told Den of Geek. "We would say, 'Like a Matt Smith or a Matt Smith type' when talking about Daemon."

"Because there's no electricity in this world, everything is lit by fire," Milly Alcock told The Hollywood Reporter. As a result, she said the set would get very hot and sweaty.

Matt Smith told GQ it's a combo of Latin and Arabic: "I thought, when I read so many of those scenes, 'Oh God, this is gonna be a pain.' But I really enjoyed those scenes." He says the language brought out a more natural side of his character's personality.

To allow for long, continuous shots, the castle was constructed to look and feel real. "You could have moved into the Red Keep and literally lived there. All of us could have," Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys Targaryen, told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was ridiculous. I've never been on a set where you just keep walking around and finding rooms and staircases."

Despite both playing Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (at different ages), director Miguel Sapochnik advised them to steer clear of one another so that they wouldn't end up copying each other's performances.

"I was going to read it, then I thought, no. What I have to represent is what they've written in the script, and they're going to take liberties with it for dramatic purposes. So I didn't want to read his interpretation or know what happened to my character," Toussaint told Men's Health.

Milly Alcock told fans at Comic Con that the machines reminded her of what you'd find at a bar or pub. Add in a harness and being lifted six feet off of the ground and you're set.

Writers worked hard to give each one its own look and personality. "The biggest difference about this series is the fact that dragons exist in this [era], whereas they were an extinct species that came back to life in the original show," showrunner Ryan Condal told The Hollywood Reporter.

Once she was in the running to play Lady Alicent Hightower, she binged all eight seasons. "People had told me to watch it before that, of course, but I’m one of those people that has to do things on my own time," she told Vogue.

Which is a long time, especially when you stay in character on set. Showrunner Ryan Condal told The Hollywood Reporter, "If you get to know Matt, I'd suggest you do it when he's out of costume because there’s something that happens when he puts on that wig."

While doing a stunt in Portugal, the actor hit a disc in his neck. He finished filming the rest of the season, but had to go to physical therapy as a result.