Daemon Targaryen and Rhaenyra in episode one of “House of the Dragon” on HBO. HBO Warning: Spoilers ahead for “House of the Dragon” season one, episode nine “The Green Council. ” Matt Smith plays Daemon, and the 39-year-old star talked to the LA Times about incest sex scenes.
He says director Clare Kilner “handled the sex scenes as well as I’ve seen them handled. ” Matt Smith stars as Daemon Targaryen on HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” a dastardly character who has become a fan favorite thanks to his charisma. One of the biggest tests for audience’s response to Smith’s character came in episode four, when Daemon encouraged Rhaenyra, his young niece, to sneak out of the castle and visit a brothel, where they kissed for the first time (and nearly had sex).
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Smith was asked how he approached the relationship between Rhaenyra and Daemon given that there’s a certain unsavory vibe to the sex scenes. “Ick factor?” Smith said. “It’s hard.
You’re constantly questioning it. But you have to take the modern-day morality away. It’s a different time.
It’s a story, and the story requires that these two characters do that. So you do it. “He continued: “But I think we were lucky with Clare Kilner, the director [of ‘King of the Narrow Sea,’ the episode in which Daemon attempts to seduce young Rhaenyra].
She handled the sex scenes as well as I’ve seen them handled. “Smith went on to also praise the show’s intimacy coordinator, who helped stage the scenes and make sure all the actors were comfortable. Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Daemon (Matt Smith) in episode 4 in “House of the Dragon.
“Ollie Upton / HBOThough the character of Rhaenyra was around 15 years old in the episode Smith is referring to, actor Milly Alcock was 21 during filming. Smith is 39 years old, while Daemon is meant to be around his late 20s or early 30s at that point in the story. The episode’s director, Clare Kilner, is one of two women who were hired to direct episodes in the first season of “House of the Dragon.
” She helmed the episode Smith referenced here, as well as episode five (“We Light the Way”) and episode nine (“The Green Council”). While speaking with Insider at a pre-season press junket, “House of the Dragon” showrunner Ryan Condal said sex and violence were going to be part of the story, but they wanted there to always be a “compelling story reason” for it. “It’s not being done gratuitously or to titillate or anything like that,” Condal said.
“It’s meant to tell a story. And I think I’m very confident in the way we approached that work the season. We had an intimacy coordinator on set with us, all the actors rehearsed these scenes long and advanced.
They knew what they were getting into. They consented on everything that they ended up doing on camera and I think they felt good about it because they knew as actors that they were performing a story and not doing sex for sex’s sake. “The season one finale of “House of the Dragon” airs Sunday on HBO at 9 p.
m. ET. For more, read our breakdown of the best details you might have missed in last week’s episode.
Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/house-of-the-dragon-matt-smith-praises-director-sex-scenes-2022-10
