Ewan Mitchell Helps Aemond Show His True Colors In 'house Of The Dragon'

LONDON — Ewan Mitchell shares fewer similarities pinch Aemond Targaryen, his unhinged characteristic connected HBO’s “House of nan Dragon.” The British actor, 29, is soft-spoken, thoughtful and speedy pinch a “thank you.” His hairsbreadth is presently brownish alternatively than Targaryen blond, though he says nan colour is really near complete from filming Justine Triet’s upcoming psychological thriller “Fonda.” Although he is very different from nan power-hungry 2nd boy he plays connected TV, Mitchell understands him.

“I ever empathize pinch that small kid successful Season 1,” he says, speaking from London’s 180 House connected a sunny time successful July. “He was this neglected, bullied boy. He was ne'er fixed a dragon egg. So from nan opening he recognized that he was connected nan backmost foot, and he was bullied for being different. What’s bully astir Season 3 is it’s showing Aemond’s existent colors.”

Early successful Season 3, Aemond asserted his power complete his mother Alicent (Olivia Cooke) pinch a gasp-inducing buss connected nan mouth, a infinitesimal Mitchell compares to Michael Corleone’s iconic buss connected Fredo successful “The Godfather Part II.” The disgraced prince regent near King’s Landing for Harrenhal successful hunt of Daemon (Matt Smith), only to execution Ser Simon Strong and his sons instead. His fray pinch nan Strong family was triumphant, but near Aemond pinch a coiled successful his side. He begged nan castle’s mysterious inhabitant Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) to thief him earlier vanishing for nan adjacent 2 episodes.

In Episode 5, Aemond is back. At first, he appears wounded and broken. But he ably defends Alys from a group of invaders, relying connected musculus representation and — possibly — a consciousness of grant to salary her backmost for redeeming his life.

“I liken Harrenhal to nan White Lotus of Westeros,” Mitchell says. “It’s a spot you spell for a retreat. You person each of your toxins drawn retired of you. You person to face them caput on. You observe for illustration nan darkest, deepest places of yourself. And nan wide head of that spot is Alys Rivers.”

In Episode 5, Aemond (Mitchell) fights disconnected invaders, redeeming Alys’ life.

(Theo Whiteman / HBO)

The upcoming episodes will support Aemond astatine Harrenhal pinch Alys and grow connected nan events of George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book “Fire & Blood,” connected which nan bid is based. Showrunner Ryan Condal wanted to research what wasn’t successful Martin’s fictional history of Westeros.

“We knew from nan book that he goes to Harrenhal and efficaciously disappears, astatine slightest from nan interactive narrative,” Condal says, speaking later complete video call. “It’s thought that he establishes immoderate narration pinch Alys Rivers. We had that arsenic a baseline, but nan thought was: ‘Where tin we return Aemond from here?’”

He adds that location was “a threat of nan characteristic becoming an anime villain,” which nan writers wanted to undercut. “He looks a definite way,” Condal says. “He has this oculus patch. He rides this Godzilla-sized dragon. And he’s done immoderate beautiful reprehensible things.”

But nan writers wanted to spell beyond Aemond’s surface, to “a different spot and excavate that trauma and vulnerability.”

Mitchell says Alys is nan cardinal to Aemond uncovering himself. “We cognize his dragon Vhagar is missing,” he says. “And if Aemond is thing without his dragon, past does he really merit her? We’ve sewage to situation what we cognize of nan characteristic already … Vhagar was nan upwind successful his sails.”

He compares Aemond pinch Spider-Man, an oddly aligned character. “With awesome powerfulness comes awesome work to wield that power,” Mitchell says. “He’s sewage to beryllium capable to show he tin power it effectively. That’s what he wanted to beryllium passim Season 1 and 2.”

He laughs: “It’s conscionable for illustration ‘Spider-Man 2.’ I find it really absorbing building up this characteristic complete 2 seasons to bring him backmost down.”

“I find it really absorbing building up this characteristic complete 2 seasons to bring him backmost down,” Mitchell says of Aemond, who is facing turbulent times successful Season 3.

(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)

Condal adds, “He’s emotion isolated and unsocial and he perchance has made an force of his family. And past this female saves him. He feels this abrupt magnetic tie to her. In nan episodes that follow, we will further excavate that relationship. It’s 1 of nan astir astonishing and engaging and affectional stories we person this season.”

Mitchell first appeared arsenic Aemond, nan boy of Viserys and Alicent and nan relative of Aegon II, successful nan eighth section of Season 1. He was primitively played by Leo Ashton, who Mitchell says “really group up nan characteristic for me.” Production had already begun erstwhile Mitchell auditioned, first pinch a self-tape and past for nan producers. Initially, he didn’t cognize which characteristic he was up for.

“I knew this characteristic was nan younger relative and that was for illustration a taxable of nan first play and going done further seasons,” Mitchell recalls. “The 2nd boy retired to beryllium his worth.”

Mitchell’s audition was memorable. “He came into nan room successful characteristic and he frightened each of us,” Condal says. “I retrieve nan first mobility that I asked [our casting director] aft he near was, ‘Is he ever for illustration that?’ Because it felt for illustration he had gone to specified a acheronian spot conscionable to do nan audition. When I said to him later, I loved really different nan personification was connected nan telephone versus nan personification I met successful nan room.”

To play Aemond, Mitchell looked astatine MMA and cage fighters to hone successful connected nan character’s agile, sadistic fighting style. He trained physically to make Aemond thin but besides beardown and imposing. He took inspiration from paintings, including Alexandre Cabanel’s 1847 activity “The Fallen Angel,” which depicts nan devil aft his autumn from heaven.

“There’s this tear successful his oculus and you don’t cognize if he’s emotion sorry for himself aliases he’s looking astatine things to come,” Mitchell says. “Is he reasoning astir nan harm he’s going to inflict successful retaliation? That was thing I wanted to do successful Season 2. It contrasts his muscular physique. It’s a substance betwixt vulnerability and sheer muscle.”

Season 2 saw Aemond purposefully incinerating his brother, leaving him severely burned, and decimating nan Riverlands while connected Vhagar. The characteristic was grappling for power, moreover if it meant brutalizing his ain family. Condal hints that a reckoning pinch Aegon will come.

“In nan awesome contented of ‘Game of Thrones,’ I consciousness for illustration that is simply a reasonably safe bet,” he says. “Characters are scattered each complete nan representation and past slow find themselves being brought backmost together, but successful different forms. That was ever thing we were talking astir doing pinch Aemond and Aegon.”

To play Aemond, Mitchell looked astatine MMA and cage fighters to hone successful connected nan character’s agile, sadistic fighting style. He besides took inspiration from paintings, including Alexandre Cabanel’s 1847 activity “The Fallen Angel.” (Jennifer McCord/For The Times)

Mitchell sees Aemond arsenic a merchandise of his circumstances, alternatively than conscionable a murdering psychopath. He was bullied arsenic a kid and coddled by his mother, but ne'er received nan unconditional emotion he craved. He was taken to brothels from an early age. He mislaid an eye. And he grew up successful nan midst of a sadistic warfare betwixt nan Greens and nan Blacks. Now he has to reckon pinch what he’s done.

“You mightiness not understand each of nan things he does,” Mitchell says. “And you mightiness not consciousness for illustration you’re expected to understand each nan things he does. But you do consciousness thing for him. In nan infinitesimal he saves Alys, possibly location is simply a redeemable Aemond successful location somewhere.”

Cooke says she loves moving other Mitchell acknowledgment to his analyzable attack to nan character.

“He has specified strength and helps maine arsenic an character successful playing Alicent to consciousness for illustration I’m wholly connected nan backmost foot,” she says successful a sound memo. “It’s filled pinch hostility trying to conjecture what he’s going to do. Yet successful reality, he is nan astir gentle, lovely, quiet, beautiful person. He’s a joyousness to activity pinch and I deliberation he makes specified absorbing choices extracurricular of ‘House of nan Dragon.’”

Between Seasons 2 and 3, Mitchell filmed Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights.” He had antecedently worked pinch nan filmmaker connected 2023’s “Saltburn,” for which he auditioned utilizing a Harold Pinter monologue. For “Wuthering Heights,” Fennell simply texted Mitchell asking him to play Joseph, a servant successful nan Earnshaw house, whose intersexual depravity electrifies Cathy.

Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Alys (Gayle Rankin) stock a tender infinitesimal successful Episode 5.

(Theo Whiteman / HBO)

“I was like, ‘If you asked maine to radiance your shoes, Emerald, I would do that,’” Mitchell says. “All of her characters are truthful vibrant and truthful nuanced, and location is specified a imagination you spot successful her films. She’s a one-of-a-kind, singular visionary. I’ve learned truthful overmuch moving pinch Emerald that I’ve taken guardant successful my career.”

One of those things was a much playful, loose attack to acting. During his first 2 seasons of “House of nan Dragon,” Mitchell felt locked into a peculiar performance. “I learned nan scripts verbatim,” he says. “Aemond is specified a calculating characteristic and everything he does is premeditated. He’s truthful successful power of himself. I recovered myself offering up nan aforesaid return each azygous take.”

After moving pinch Fennell connected “Saltburn” and “Wuthering Heights,” Mitchell felt much freedom. She encouraged him to springiness a scope of performances connected set, allowing her to find nan characteristic during nan editing process. He brought that pinch him to nan 3rd play of “House of nan Dragon.”

“With Aemond being truthful unsure of himself, it happened much naturally,” he says. “He’s learning caller things astir himself. I was really unfastened to uncovering nan segment organically connected nan time and not coming successful pinch immoderate preconceived choices. And I recovered truthful overmuch much enjoyment successful it.”

Condal observed Mitchell’s looser approach. “I don’t deliberation Ewan was ever rigid,” Condal says. “But what I saw hap complete nan seasons was personification learning from their master experience. As a monolithic instrumentality of Emerald Fennell’s work, I tin spot really being successful that very different crucible could thief him go his champion version. We astir apt demanded nan astir retired of Ewan successful Season 3 than immoderate of nan different actors.”

Mitchell says moving pinch Emerald Fennell helped him return a looser attack to acting.

(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)

Since wrapping Season 3 past fall, Mitchell has stayed busy. He filmed “The Way of nan Runner” successful China pinch first-time filmmaker Yutong Bai, Gareth Evans’ remake of nan 1960s Japanese crime film “A Colt Is My Passport” successful Wales, Luna Carmoon’s sophomore characteristic “To Make Ends Meat” successful London and Can Aydin’s directorial debut “The Healer” successful Budapest. He past flew to France to activity pinch Triet, an acquisition he loved because she changeable connected film. “Knowing you’ve only sewage a constricted magnitude of time, there’s thing beautiful astir nan imperfections of performances,” he says. “There was specified a awesome power pinch everyone successful nan room.”

Mitchell has been attracted to performing for arsenic agelong arsenic he tin remember. Growing up successful Derby, England, he admired films for illustration “Citizen Kane” and “Taxi Driver” because they centered connected “characters you don’t wholly understand.” He appreciates nan scope of projects he’s done truthful far, from nan monolithic standard of accumulation connected “House of nan Dragon” to smaller creation location films.

“I emotion moving arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin and learning,” he says. “I’d emotion to support moving pinch debut directors. After nan caller films I’ve done and seeing ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms,’ it’s really motivating seeing what they tin do.”

Although Mitchell looks thing for illustration Aemond, he is often recognized. Someone stopped him connected his measurement present coming to inquire for a photo. “I deliberation it’s nan chin,” he grins. He knows he’s inextricably linked to nan character, for amended aliases worse. He can’t springiness overmuch distant astir what’s to travel successful Season 3, but Aemond is surely not down for nan count.

“What makes him truthful vulnerable is that conscionable erstwhile you deliberation he has thing near successful nan tank, it’s like, ‘Guess again,’” Mitchell says. “It’s not a mobility of whether he’s going to do evil. It’s inevitable that he will do it. And it will beryllium sadistic and it will beryllium fast.”

He pauses, unsure of what he tin reveal. “I don’t want to spoil anything,” he says carefully, “but I can’t hold for group to spot what Harrenhal has successful shop for him.”