On “House of the Dragon,” HBO’s fantasy epic that takes place two centuries before “Game of Thrones,” Matt Smith plays Daemon, a warrior prince who exists among fire-breathing reptiles and palace intrigue. But if his character were ever to leap deeper into the supernatural, Smith has some ideas about where he could go. “I think Daemon would make a really good vampire,” he says. “I can imagine him wandering the earth alone for all eternity.”
He certainly has the coloring: Pallid and platinum-blonde, Daemon looks as if he could have arrived in the forbidding and dark world of Westeros all the way from Transylvania. But he might be too hotblooded to play the vampire. And “House of the Dragon” — a prequel to the Emmy-gobbling, earth-shattering hit “Game of Thrones,” set during the reign of the incestuous Targaryen dynasty — is unlikely to pivot into creature horror.
But it’s easy to understand what Smith, the English actor who went into the series’ August 2022 premiere as the best-known member of the “House of the Dragon” ensemble, means. Daemon is proximate to power, but he’s — vampirically — too thirsty, too isolated, too much a creature of the night to really reign. “He’d probably make a terrible king,” Smith says.
Popular on Variety
As the show enters its second season, premiering June 16, the question of Daemon’s future — as king, or as lonely wanderer — remains unresolved. The first season raced through its setup: Daemon marries his niece, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), to help secure her claim to the Iron Throne, but when her father and Daemon’s older brother, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), dies, Rhaenyra’s rivals within the family seize power for themselves. Now, the two are grieving the loss of their son while waging an intricate blood feud — and Daemon is setting off on his own, to settle scores and rally troops for the war to come.