Tom Glynn-Carney on House of the Dragon season 2 and Aegon's "next chapter"
Tom Glynn-Carney speaks to Radio Times magazine about starring in the Game of Thrones prequel and the future of King Aegon II Targaryen.
This interview first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Meet the Targaryens. The dynastic rulers of the known world, who have handed down the crown to their first-born, generation after generation, their power and privilege protected by the genetic ties that bind (and a few fire-breathing dragons).
Until, that is, the children started squabbling, someone lost an eye, a cousin plummeted from the sky (those pesky dragons again) and all hell broke loose. Families, eh?
So begins season two of House of the Dragon, the sprawling Game of Thrones prequel set a couple of centuries before the original series. And if 2022’s first season was about establishing how the Targaryens had long kept an iron grip on the Iron Throne of Westeros, we’re about to see how they lost it, ripping themselves – and their kingdom – apart in brutal internecine conflict.
At the head of one faction is the tempestuous princeling Aegon Targaryen, played by Tom Glynn-Carney. At the close of the last series, a reluctant Aegon (pronounced Egg-on) was thrust onto the throne following the death of his father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine). Now, explains the Salford-born 29-year-old actor, "Aegon’s adopting this new persona of power and strength. It’s the first time he’s had any form of purpose. And he’s taking it in his stride – or at least trying to look as if he is."
"There’s a spring in his step. Aegon’s probably gained two inches in height. So [at the start of this series] we find him working out what this next chapter is for him," Glynn-Carney explains in a soft accent that’s more akin to Game of Thrones’s northern clan the Starks than the southern cadences of the Targaryens ("I know," he says a little ruefully, "but you somehow feel more evil with that heightened RP accent").
To his supporters, he’s King Aegon the Magnanimous, goodly and rightful occupant of the big spiky chair. To his rival family members, led by fellow claimant Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and her wicked husband Daemon (Matt Smith), he’s Aegon the Usurper.
To Glynn-Carney's joshing co-star Rhys Ifans, who plays regal adviser (or Hand) Ser Otto Hightower, he’s "Aeg-on Toast", the punning honorific the Welsh actor would call out during filming.
"You learn so much from guys like that," says Glynn-Carney who, seven years after his first notable screen appearance, in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, is armour-deep in his debut leading role. "With experience comes a looseness. And with a looseness comes humour. So we have a laugh on set."
Equally, with senior members of the ensemble being actors of the calibre of Smith, D'arcy, Ifans and Olivia Cooke (who plays Aegon’s mother Alicent, despite being only a year older than Glynn-Carney), "you have to be a sponge in these environments. Soak in as much as you can. You hear that phrase, 'You shouldn’t meet your heroes'. But so far, I’ve been very lucky."
As a teenager at school in Bolton, Glynn-Carney wasn’t much of a fantasy fan. He will cop to being "obsessed with Harry Potter", but never watched Game of Thrones (subsequent to being cast in HotD he paid his "due diligence" and hoovered up all eight series) and still hasn’t seen the Lord of the Rings movies.
Rather, the performances that propelled him towards applying successfully for a place at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama were those by the likes of Jack Nicholson, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger, "actors who really went somewhere when they took on a role," he says. "Who gave their whole atomic make-up to the work. I wanted to know what that felt like." Another obsession was "the idea of not being me. I was always doing different accents as a kid. To the point where I lost myself a little bit! I didn’t really know who I was. Watching One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest was a really pivotal moment. I wanted a bit of that, wherever that was".
Cast in Dunkirk not long after graduating, he joined a squad of fledgeling actors: Barry Keoghan, Jack Lowden, Aneurin Barnard, Fionn Whitehead and a young lad called Harry Styles. "Drama school is great for many reasons, but you don’t learn at drama school what you learn on a film set. It felt like I was starting from square one. [Director] Chris Nolan and all the creative team and older cast realised that. They were very patient with us young lads who were working it out on the job. Huge impostor syndrome! But it was great. What a springboard."
The same year, a supporting role in Jez Butterworth’s hit play The Ferryman led to Glynn-Carney taking the emerging talent crown at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards. That was followed, also in 2017, by inclusion in Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow list, alongside Jessie Buckley, Michaela Coel and future SAS: Rogue Heroes co-star Connor Swindells.
Another amazing squad – although it’s taken longer for Glynn-Carney to "emerge", or for his "tomorrow" to come, than some of those peers. Was that ever concerning? "Not particularly," he replies. "I actually have very little interest in being a leading man. I’m fascinated by the supporting roles. I find them more interesting. Often, they have more of an impact in a plotline."
In one sense, he’s proceeding as planned: his next role is in this summer’s Jenna Coleman-led BBC detective drama The Jetty. "I play quite a problematic character – surprise, surprise," Glynn-Carney says with a smile. But not everything’s gone so smoothly. His scheduled return for series two of SAS: Rogue Heroes was scuppered by his House of the Dragon commitments, which he characterises as "unfortunate" and "a shame", not least because the soldier he played, Mike Sadler, was the sole surviving member of the original SAS until his death in January, at the age of 103.
Still, House of the Dragon has now shown him the truth behind the precept that heavy lies the head that wears the crown – even on a TV set. "The one thing that does intrigue me about 'leading man status' is the workload and responsibility it requires to carry something. To a certain extent, I felt that during season two," he explains. "It has been the project so far where I felt most involved, and where the character has been most pivotal. There is a great responsibility that comes with that. But it’s one that I welcome and hope continues."
As to whether that will now mean leading man fame, Glynn-Carney is relaxed. Helpfully, his platinum Targaryen wig means he’s not often recognised. "I get away with it. I like to think I don’t look anything like Aegon in real life.
But I made a conscious choice for my life not to change, because I have no interest in it changing. I like my anonymity and my space and my peace and quiet."
Does he think Aegon would have been better off with the peace and quiet of not being made king? "Maybe!" he laughs. "I think he’d be on a beach in Australia… although probably still getting in a lot of trouble."
House of the Dragon season two will air on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK from 17th June – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
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