Actor Tom Glynn-Carney has opened up about recent comparisons of his House of the Dragon character to another villainous despot in the franchise, Game of Thrones’ Joffrey Baratheon (played by Jack Gleeson). Glynn-Carney admits that while he can see the similarities, he believes his character is much more complex and hopes for viewers to connect with him.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Glynn-Carney has explained that both fans and House of the Dragon executive producers have compared Aegon to Joffrey. After being cast in the role of Aegon Targaryen, the eldest son of the late King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), Glynn-Carney revealed he discussed the likeness of his character to Joffrey Baratheon with the showrunners. “Ryan and Miguel said if we could make any comparisons to [Thrones characters], that he’s the closest to Joffrey,” Glynn-Carney said of his conversation with executive producers Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.
Glynn-Carney has revealed his character isn’t quite like Gleeson’s when it comes to motives. “[H]e is not an out-and-out psychopath. He’s much more complex. His decisions are due to insecurities and confusion and rage. He’s just bitterly confused and mentally unwell,” Glynn-Carney stated, explaining Aegon’s inability to think prudently as quite different to Joffrey’s sadistic hunger for power and cruelty. The actor went on to further explain that Aegon’s reliance on other people and alcohol has resulted in his poor decision-making capabilities. “As much of a nightmare as Aegon is and how he plays against any form of rules and discipline, he’s pretty defenseless. “He’s so reliant on alcohol that he’s a confused, tangled mess of a man who doesn’t yet know himself. He’s incapable of making decisions that aid him. His entire life, he’s relied on people around him to make sure he’s doing the right thing.” Unfortunately, Glynn-Carney has admitted that thanks to this, Aegon’s “awful decisions” are going to impact everyone.
The actor has also explained that Aegon’s resentment of his father not wanting him to have power has shaped his character. Both Joffrey and Aegon are the eldest sons in their respective families, and like Joffrey, Aegon’s father Viserys was reluctant to have Aegon take the throne after his death. “He’s grown up with the idea that he doesn’t want power,” Glynn-Carney explained. “He’s a very selfish person because he wants to escape. I think if he was a modern-day person, he’d leave his family and go traveling around Australia and grow some dreadlocks.”
The actor further added that Aegon’s rebellion is not only seen in his recent actions, but in his choice of hairstyle. When speaking to Sapochnik, Glynn-Carney told the producer he felt Aegon’s hair should not match his family’s in terms of length. “I was like, ‘I don’t want him to have long, luscious Targaryen locks, because he hates that.’ Like Aemond [Aegon's brother] is completely reveling in it. Whereas Aegon just throws it away. He was like, ’Take it off!’” He added that he didn’t think his character would allow himself to be defined by his family in any sense, whom he hates “because—in his head—they hate him.”
In the same interview, Glynn-Carney admitted he had reservations about his character after his criminal introduction. In the series, the adult version of Aegon is brought into the House of the Dragon world after sexually assaulting a female servant. “That’s a harsh introduction for any character. “There are questions about whether his heart is in the right place, if he’s a psychopath, or if he’s just confused. It’s tricky because, as an actor, you want the audience to be on your side at least a little,” Glynn-Carney said, voicing concerns that he had hoped he’d be able to get viewers to “connect… at least a little bit” with his character.
Two Game of Thrones actors, Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) and Kit Harington (Jon Snow) were more than happy to offer the new-to-the-franchise actor advice. “The world itself is massive and to remember that you are just a tiny cog of a huge machine,” Harington had advised Glynn-Carney, which reassured him. “It’s the truth, you know? Without the machine, you’re nothing.” On the other hand, the actor said Allen told him to “enjoy it, laugh it up, and use the time to play with it. Especially with this character, there’s a lot to play around with and be a bit mischievous.”
House of the Dragon is currently streaming on HBO Max. Check out the trailer for the finale below: