“House of the Dragon”
Aegon actor differentiates himself from Joffrey
Tom Glynn-Carney plays Aegon Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
© Loredana Sangiuliano/Shutterstock.com
Aegon actor Tom Glynn-Carney from “House of the Dragon” clarifies what distinguishes his role from “GoT” tyrant King Joffrey.
After the ninth episode of the “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” there is a new king of Westeros: Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). Fans of both series immediately engaged in lively debates about the new ruler reminding them of the tyrannical King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson). However, Tom Glynn-Carney (27) sees significant differences between his role and that of his colleague Jack Gleeson (30), as he told The Hollywood Reporter.
In fact, he spoke to showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik after the casting about how Aegon is most comparable to Joffrey. “However, he’s not an out-and-out psychopathic character. He’s a lot more complex. His decisions are based on insecurities, confusion and anger. He’s just bitterly confused and mentally ill,” said Glynn-Carney.
Glynn-Carney: Aegon would have traveled around Australia with dreadlocks these days
“As much as Aegon is a nightmare and how he fights against all forms of rules and discipline, he’s pretty much defenseless,” said the actor. “He’s so addicted to alcohol that he’s a confused, confused man who doesn’t know himself yet. He’s unable to make decisions that will help him. All his life he’s relied on that the people around him make sure he’s doing the right thing. But he’s making terrible decisions, and now those decisions are being made on a grand scale.”
Aegon grew up thinking “that he doesn’t want power,” the actor adds. “And his father didn’t want him to have them. So there’s that resentment too. He’s a very selfish person because he wants to escape. I think if he were a modern person he would leave his family and travel around Australia and grow dreadlocks,” speculated the Briton. This rebellious attitude is also the reason for the relatively short hair: Lush Targaryen curls are out of the question for Aegon: “He doesn’t want to be defined by his family. He hates his family because – in his head – they hate him.”
Help from “GoT” stars Kit Harington and Alfie Allen
He had pondered for a long time how he could still arouse sympathy in the audience for such an unsympathetic character, said the actor. He also sought advice from the “GoT” actors Kit Harington (35, played Jon Snow) and Alfie Allen (36, played Theon Graujoy).
“I spoke to Kit very briefly about this,” Glynn-Carney said. “He talked about the world itself being huge and remembering that you are just a tiny cog in a huge machine – and it’s comforting to think about it like that.” He also asked Allen about his process at “GoT”. “Alfie said to enjoy it, laugh at it, and use the time to play with it. There’s a lot to play with and a little bit mischievous about, especially with this character,” says the Aegon actor.