Home TV News Matt Smith Joins GoT Prequel ‘House of the Dragon’, Along With Olivia Cooke & Emma D’Arcy

Matt Smith Joins GoT Prequel ‘House of the Dragon’, Along With Olivia Cooke & Emma D’Arcy

by Dave Elliott

Matt Smith Joins GoT Prequel ‘House of the Dragon’, Along With Olivia Cooke & Emma D’Arcy

It seems Matt Smith is not done with playing princes just yet, as it’s announced the former ‘The Crown’ star will play Daemon Targaryen in HBO’s upcoming ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series House of the Dragon. Also joining the show are Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 300 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’, tells the story of House Targaryen. Daemon is the younger brother of King Viserys (played by Paddy Considine). Whilst Viserys is a warm, kind, and decent man, who only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy, Daemon is a little… different… to his elder sibling.

A skilled fighter and dragon rider, Daemon could be impetuous and aggressive – charming one minute, then flying into a rage the next. He served as both master of coin and master of laws for Viserys, but where he really felt at home was as Lord Commander of the City Watch. It was Daemon who originally gave the City Watch their signature golden cloaks, and he inspired loyalty amongst his men, whilst also reducing crime in the city, albeit by using some pretty brutal tactics!

Smith is, of course, well known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’, and playing Price Philip in the first two seasons of ‘The Crown’. He’s next due to pop up in the Spider-Man adjacent movie ‘Morbius’, where he plays Loxias Crown opposite Jared Leto.

In addition to Smith, Emma D’Arcy is set to take the role of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, eldest child of Viserys, and also a dragon rider. I won’t go into too much background on Rhaenyra for fear of spoiling things, but let’s just say she is… close… with her uncle Daemon… and has her eyes on the Iron Throne.

D’Arcy has most recently been starring as Astrid in Amazon’s ‘Truth Seekers’ with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. Previously she popped up in tv series ‘Hanna’, also for Amazon, and BBC/Netflix series ‘Wanderlust’, where she played Naomi.

Also joining the cast is Olivia Cooke, who will be portraying Alicent Hightower, the stunningly beautiful daughter of Otto Hightower, Hand of the King. Having been raised in the Red Keep since the age of 13 when her father became Hand to King Jaehaerys I, she knows her way around a royal court… and its politics.

Cooke is probably best known for her roles as Emma Decody in tv series ‘Bates Motel’, and playing Art3mis in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One’. She also starred as Becky Sharp in the ITV miniseries ‘Vanity Fair’.

The series comes from George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal (‘Colony’, ‘Hercules’) who serve as co-creators on the drama. Miguel Sapochnik and Condal will be showrunners, and the pair will also serve as executive producers along with Martin and Vince Gerardis. Sapochnik directing credits include six ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes, and he won Emmy and DGA honours for “Battle of the Bastards.” He was also nominated for another Emmy in 2019 for directing “The Long Night” and won the Emmy for Best Drama Series as an executive producer for the final season.

House Of The Dragon‘ is set to premiere in 2022 on HBO & HBO Max in the USA. As it is airing on the HBO channel in the US, it should fall under Sky’s overall deal and air on Sky Atlantic in the UK (the deal only covers HBO channel series and not shows which are purely HBO Max properties.)

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