Ewan Mitchell is no stranger to appearing in costume series, the 27-year-old actor played Osferth, the important assistant of the main character Uhtred, in the medieval drama The Last Kingdom, which is quite popular in this country as well. Before joining the Game of Thrones prequel series, Mitchell had a memorable performance in Saltburn, playing an unrecognizable and rather creepy Oxford student. Then came House of Dragons, HBO’s new fantasy set in Westeros, in which Ewan Mitchell might unleash his evil, playing the second child of King Viserys I and Alicent Hightower, by the end of the first season, so much evil was attached to his character that, even in this violent world, it was blatant it matters Then came the fourth part of the second season, and Aemond Targaryen flaunted the elemental power not only in himself, but also in his dragon Vhagar.
We sat down with Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond Targaryen, in the form of a Zoom roundtable video discussion, the actor told Index regarding:
- how does it feel for him to play an infinitely evil character following the character of Osferth,
- what’s the best thing regarding being in such a big budget fantasy,
- but it was also revealed why he considers Aemond a complex figure and not simply evil.
He spent a longer time in Hungary due to the filming of The Last Kingdom. There he played a character who was a noble soul, a man of God, a warrior monk. How does it feel to play the role of a schemer like Aemond?
It is interesting that he brings up Osferth, because quite a lot of cross-talk can be discovered between him and Aemond, since both are noble scions who become outcasts and are treated unfairly by their brothers. Aemond is under a tremendous pressure to conform, he wants to prove not only to his family, but also to himself. He’s the second-oldest brother who can’t count on anything in terms of inheritance, so there are points in his life, such as the big battle in the fourth episode of the second season, when he realizes that he has to take control or he’ll be left behind.
Aemond has great power at his disposal, thanks to his dragon Vhagar, who ensures that my character can do things that the rest of the kingdom can only dream of. Aemond doesn’t have much of a choice, he has to stand on his heels to write himself into the history books, and it’s especially exciting to me that his dragon is such a pivotal point in his quest for greatness.
Thanks!
Thank you very much! says Ewan Mitchell with perfect Hungarian pronunciation.
What do you think of Aemond’s frightening appearance, the dark aura surrounding him? Why is Aemond such a threatening phenomenon in the series?
On the one hand, due to the fact that he is unrecognizable, in the first half of the season my character mostly operates from the periphery, he comes out of the shadows to have a say in the power games of the Targaryens. Shakespeare has the thought-provoking saying that the eye is the mirror of the soul… how can this be interpreted in the case of a guy like Aemond, who has only one eye and a sapphire gem glitters in its place? Does Aemond’s blindfold cover his soul and intentions a bit? Maybe. For sure, it becomes unpredictable because of it.
In the first four episodes, Aemond is surrounded by a kind of silence, his behavior is even more nebulous in comparison to himself, and it is impossible to know what he is up to. I love it in movies and series when someone hides their intentions like this, because it gives the audience an opportunity to speculate and try to get inside the character’s head, only to be shocked to no end when Aemond does something they were not mentally prepared for.
Aemond’s relationship with his mother, Alicent, isn’t exactly the healthiest in the series. Could this be the source of the frustration that sometimes erupts from the man?
Every child longs for love, unconditional love. And if he doesn’t get all that, he’ll simply burn down his parents’ house to get some warmth, even if the flames of love aren’t burning at the time. For Aemond, rebellion is symbolized by war, but the fact is that his relationship with Alicent is fuel to the fire. I have no idea what will happen if he finds out that Criston Cole and his mother are sleeping with each other, probably not much good will come of it either.
So far, we have known Aemond as an extremely broken personality.
He is not only physically different from the others, but also mentally. I love the scene in Michael Mann’s classic Eye to Eye in which Robert De Niro’s character tells Al Pacino that there is nothing in a man’s life that he can’t say goodbye to forever in half a minute when the cops come around the corner. Aemond lives by a similar code to De Niro in this film, which allows him to think that love has no place in his world and that he cannot cling to anyone. That’s exactly why he so dispassionately leaves the prostitute he hugged in the third part. Aemond believes that love is a sign of weakness and he cannot afford to appear weak. Aemond is none other than the Terminator of Westeros, whom everyone fears.
As an actor, from a professional point of view, why do you like working on the House of Dragons?
As actors, we have a rewarding task, the scripts are well written, the dialogues are worthy of Game of Thrones, the strong foundation, good writing is already on the table, it is our job to deliver it to the audience to the best of our ability. Aemond isn’t the kind of character that viewers are supposed to like, but Ryan Condal and the writing staff write scripts in such a way that it’s impossible not to sympathize – at least a little – with the one-eyed Targaryen.
Perhaps the thing I love most regarding this series is that we work in impressive built sets, the Red Fort was also built in a studio, at least a good part of it. The different locations are connected by stairs and corridors, and as an actor you simply get lost in them. When the lights are turned off and the lights come on, it’s like walking in another world, disconnected from reality. The walking scenes are shot directly and extended for a long time, it is simply impossible for a person not to be absorbed by this world on set, and for several hours to feel that we are really there in Westeros. This experience is priceless.
The second season of Sárkánok háza can be watched with dubbing and Hungarian subtitles on Max, so far four episodes of the eight-part stage have been uploaded, the continuation arrives on the platform every Monday.
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