Paddy Considine has been cast as King Viserys Targaryen in the forthcoming Game of Thrones prequel, HBO has revealed.
The 47-year-old – who has previously starred in Dead Man’s Shoes, The Death of Stalin, Peaky Blinders, and The Outsider – is the first actor to sign on to the spin-off titled House of the Dragon.
According to Variety, the English actor will play the “warm, kind, and decent man” who was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King Jaehaerys Targaryen. Viserys “only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy”.
Fans of George RR Martin’s books will recall that King Viserys ruled over Westeros approximately 100 years after Aegon’s conquest. His children, Rhaenyra and Aegon II, will go on to fight a civil war over his throne.
The prequel will be based on George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood books, which are set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
Considine is currently starring in HBO’s drama miniseries The Third Day. The acclaimed actor has also written and directed a handful of feature films (Tyrannosaur, Journeyman) as well as music videos, including Coldplay’s "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" and Arctic Monkeys' "Leave Before the Lights Come On".
In October last year, HBO revealed that fans could expect a 10-episode “straight-to-series order” for a Targaryan-centric prequel show co-created by Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condol.
Sapochnik will direct the pilot as well as additional episodes throughout the series. The director is best known for his battle-centric instalments including the two most action-packed episodes of Game of Thrones's final season, “The Long Night” and “The Bells”.
There is no concrete news on when exactly House of the Dragon will air. Last year, the network’s programming president Casey Bloys said that his “guess” is sometime in 2022.
House of the Dragon is one of four Game of Thrones spin-offs in the works at HBO. An untitled prequel starring Naomi Watts was not picked up by the network for a full series in October 2019.
