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House Of The Dragon Director Clears Up Our 1 Big Question About Aemond’s Nude Scene

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One of the biggest criticisms levelled at Game Of Thrones was its disparity between male and female on-screen nudity – and it seems spin-off House Of The Dragon is keen to remedy that.

The latest instalment of the prequel series featured an extended sequence set in a brothel, which made TV history of sorts as the first scene in any Game Of Thrones show to feature an erect penis.

Not only that, the scene came to a climax (sorry!) with Aegon Targaryen catching his brother Aemond in the act, only to wind up humiliating him in a manner reminiscent of the bullying Aegon subjected Aemond to in their younger years.

At the end of the exchange, Aemond coldly walks away from the scene without bothering to dress, with director Geeta Vasant Patel telling Variety that Ewan Mitchell threw himself into going fully nude for the sequence, rather than using a double or prosthetic.

“Ewan is such a great actor. He understands what he needs to do in order to portray Aemond,” she enthused.

“When I spoke with him originally about the nudity, I said to him, ‘Let’s just go through the story. If you don’t feel comfortable being nude, then you’re not going to be nude’. We were both on the same page in that way. We started walking through, and he walked me through his character.

“One thing about directing that’s really important is to surrender to the actors, and the actors surrender. It’s a mutual surrendering. In this case, Ewan knew his character so well that I was listening to him and walking with him as we went through every episode before this.”

A (cropped) still of Ewan Mitchell's nude scene from the latest instalment of House Of The Dragon
A (cropped) still of Ewan Mitchell’s nude scene from the latest instalment of House Of The Dragon

She explained: “What we came to is that Aemond was hurt. He was bullied when he was little. Since he was hurt, he had created this persona that was the exact opposite of how he was feeling.

“He created the persona of a someone who is callous and has no regard for what others think of him. That shift, from someone who’s vulnerable to literally watching him put on his armour, was what we were going for in that scene. It’s one of the few times you see the young child in him and you see the pain in him.

“Slowly he starts putting on his armour and when he stands up, the fact that he doesn’t care that you see his penis is such a strong visceral shift. And so, of course, Ewan was like, ‘I want to be fully nude in that moment. It’s important to me because that’s who my character is. That’s what he would do’. And that’s what we did.”

Geeta Vasant Patel at the season 2 premiere of House Of The Dragon
Geeta Vasant Patel at the season 2 premiere of House Of The Dragon

Arturo Holmes via Getty Images

In a separate interview with Vulture, Ewan agreed it was “encoded in Aemond’s DNA” for the character to leave the scene in the way he does.

“He’s humiliated by his brother and all his crew, and it’s like this switch flips,” he said of his character.

“The madam is no more. All of these people in front of him? They mean nothing. He stands up, he owns it. ‘Yeah, I’m bulletproof. Anything you say, it will not work’.”

Ewan added: “Scenes like this start with a conversation about how far you’re prepared to go. It wasn’t a choice we made lightly. But it’s true to Aemond that he shocks the audience. Weakness is not part of Aemond’s vocabulary.”

House Of The Dragon airs on Mondays on Sky and Now.

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House Of The Dragon Star Opens Up About Filming ‘Animalistic’ Sex Scene That Was Eventually Cut From Show

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House Of The Dragon star Olivia Cooke has revealed not all of the sex scenes she filmed made it into the final edit.

The British actor played Alicent Hightower, who becomes the second wife of King Viserys I Targaryen, in the first season of the Game Of Thrones prequel, and reprises the role in the second run, which is airing now.

In a new interview with Elle, Olivia opened up about some of the show’s infamous sex scenes, recalling one in particular that wound up on the cutting room floor.

“It was messy as fuck,” she said of the “animalistic” and “carnal” sequence. “It wasn’t beautiful, and that was really fun to do.”

Rhys Ifans and Olivia Cooke on the set of House Of The Dragon season two
Rhys Ifans and Olivia Cooke on the set of House Of The Dragon season two

On why the scene ultimately wasn’t used, she claimed that showrunner Ryan Condal felt “we weren’t learning any more about the characters”.

“I disagree with [that] slightly,” she added. “But it’s okay. It’s his show.”

Asked more generally about House Of The Dragon’s sex scenes, Olivia shared: “I thought there’d be way more, and so I’m relieved that when it has been used for me, it’s showing Alicent being pleasured, which is amazing and doesn’t feel gratuitous. It feels like we’re telling a story.”

Olivia recently gave an interview to The Times, in which she shared how she really felt about playing a grandmother in the hit fantasy show, despite only being in her early 30s.

“I have really complicated feelings towards it,” she admitted. “If they can create dragons, they could have made me look younger – and then older. Or maybe they should have cast actors in their forties?”

“It’s strange,” Olivia added. “I bristle a bit because the years between being a teenager and now a grandma on screen were so short for me. There’s real reticence to see women age on screen.”

House Of The Dragon airs on Mondays on Sky and Now.

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Emilia Clarke Is ‘Over The Moon’ For House Of The Dragon’s Success But Won’t Be Watching

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Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke won’t be watching the show’s spin-off, House Of The Dragon, anytime soon.

The British actor, who played Daenerys Targaryen in the fantasy drama series, has admitted it would be “too weird” to watch the prequel, which is set roughly 200 years before the events depicted in Game Of Thrones.

During an appearance at the Sundance Film Festival over the weekend to promote her new romcom, The Pod Generation, Emilia explained to Variety why she has steered clear of watching the show.

Emilia Clarke at the Variety Sundance Studio
Emilia Clarke at the Variety Sundance Studio

Katie Jones via Getty Images

“It’s too weird. I’m so happy it’s happening. I’m over the moon about all the awards … I just can’t do it. It’s so weird. It’s so strange,” she said.

She went on to compare watching House Of the Dragon to attending an awkward school reunion.

“It’s kind of like someone saying, ‘You want to go to this school reunion that’s not your year? Want to go to that school reunion?’ That’s how it feels. I’m avoiding it,” she explained.

Emilia isn’t the only Game Of Thrones star who has admitted that watching the prequel would be difficult.

Kit Harrington, who played Jon Snow in Game Of Thrones, previously said that there would be a “rawness” to not being in the show.

Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington.
Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington.

Jeff Kravitz via Getty Images

“There’s emotion connected to that for me,” he said previously. “I think to see people get into outfits and costumes that resemble what we wore for all those years, and it [has] the same music and style and tone, but not be in it is always going to feel — there’s going to be a rawness there.”

House Of The Dragon fans still have a little while to wait for series two to arrive on our screens.

in an interview with Vulture, HBO Max boss Casey Bloys revealed it won’t be this year.

“Don’t expect it in ’23, but I think sometime in ’24,” he told the outlet of House Of The Dragon’s second season, apparently “declining to get any more specific than that”.

He added: “We’re just starting to put the plan together, and just like last time, there are so many unknowns.

“It’s not to be coy or secretive, but you don’t want to say it’s going to be ready on this date, and then you have to move it.”

All 10 episodes of House Of The Dragon are available to watch on Now in the UK.

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House Of The Dragon Already Renewed For Season 2, Sky Confirms

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Sky has confirmed the fantasy drama – set 200 years before the original hit show – will return for more episodes after the first series wraps up.

House Of The Dragon debuted earlier this week, with its first episode proving a hit with fans of the GOT franchise and critics alike.

Zai Bennett, managing director of content at Sky, said: “House Of The Dragon is already proving to be a ratings hit, and we predict it will go from strength to strength due to the captivating storytelling and incredible production values.

“We look forward to sharing a second series with our customers on Sky and NOW.”

The HBO drama – based on George R R Martin’s Fire And Blood novel – chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen and the events leading up to the Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons.

Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans are among the cast.

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Game Of Thrones Writer George RR Martin Slams ‘Toxic’ Fans Over Backlash To Finale

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George RR Martin has slammed “toxic” Game Of Thrones fans over the backlash to the series finale.

The hugely successful fantasy series concluded in 2019. However, the finale wasn’t a hit with everyone, with several fan petitions circulating online demanding for season eight to be remade.

One saw more than 1.8million fans signing it.

Speaking about the backlash ahead of the release of the upcoming Game Of Thrones prequel House Of The Dragon, set 300 years before the hit fantasy series, the author blasted the response of some fans.

George RR. Martin
George RR. Martin

MARK RALSTON via Getty Images

“The fucking toxic internet and these podcasts out there saying that season eight left such a bad impression that people say, “Oh, I’m never going to watch them again’,” he told The Hollywood Reporter: “I don’t trust them anymore.”

HBO Max content chief Casey Bloys added: “It was a social media backlash.

“I think in multiple parts of our society, we are reminding ourselves that Twitter is not real life.

“We knew it was going to be divisive and, of course, you want all fans to be happy, but that’s never going to happen.

“There weren’t a lot of people walking around despondent or upset. It’s a take that reads well but probably doesn’t fully reflect viewer feelings.”

Earlier this week the first full length trailer debuted for House Of The Dragon, which is adapted from George’s book Fire And Blood.

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Writing on his website, he said: “I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy.”

He also praised showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sopochnik for doing an “amazing job”.

“Just as with Game of Thrones, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them. (Only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling).

“I think the Targaryens are in very good hands. Anticipate away. I do not think you will be disappointed.”

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