In season one on HBO Game of Thrones background story The house of the dragonPaddy Considine played King Viserys, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms – a character whose physical decline became more terrifying the series advanced. The actor revealed that he drew on deeply personal experiences to describe Viserys’ agonizing journey.
In a new interview with Diversity, Considine talked about how both his mother and father suffered from physical ailments. His father died of cancer and when The house of the dragonepisode eight aired— the episode in which Viserys dies after a long illness — Constantine said that “I was in another room because I didn’t want to see him.” When he finally watched the scene, Constantine recalled that “at the end, when he’s lying in bed, it was very shocking to me because I was looking at the image of my father when he was dying of cancer. The image his.”
The mechanics of an actor playing someone who is dying is especially tense. “When you [act like you’re dying slowly] for several days and your breathing is shallow – my oxygen level has started to drop,” Considine recalled. “They had to take me off the set and give me fresh air regularly because I almost passed out. It’s like your brain starts telling your body you’re sick. It’s really quite strange.”
In the interview, he described his experience with his father in the hospital, wondering if his father was ready to leave or if he was just too scared to let go. “But sometimes when people walk by, I feel like they know. It’s like when a dog goes to die alone,” he said. “And I felt that a lot with Viserys.”
The house of the dragon a second season is currently in production despite the ongoing WGA strike.
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