King Viserys' House Of The Dragon Illness Became A Real-Life Problem For Paddy Considine
Paddy Considine's portrayal of King Viserys in "House of the Dragon" has been nothing short of terrific. The show has been commended for consistently improving on the book: it gives King Viserys the space to be a human being and makes him agonize and endure the consequences of his decisions. The show takes its time to depict the trials and tribulations of his suffering and illustrates how his illness torments him.
King Viserys succumbs to his suffering after over a decade, and Paddy Considine has recently revealed he hurt himself filming the King's final moments. Playing the part of a frail, ailing man is sure to take an emotional toll on an actor, but Considine also physically hurt himself in the process.
'It's a strange thing the brain does'
In an interview with Complex, Considine explained how "strange" it was to film his character's final moments. For his performance, the actor drew from his personal experiences and stated how his father's demise had impacted him, in turn influencing his performance.
He had experienced suffering before, and he wanted to imbue his character with "sincerity" because he had gone through it. Considine injected complexity and nuance into his performance, and while his commitment effortlessly translated on the screen, the actor injured himself in the process. The actor was nearly "passing out" from filming his scenes.
Here's how Considine described the experience:
"It was strange, those final scenes in the bed with Viserys. We were shooting those over a couple of days, and [the] oxygen levels in my body went right down because my brain was basically telling my body that I wasn't getting enough oxygen. It's a strange thing the brain does; it starts to tell your body that you're sick if you behave sickly. So I had to be taken out because literally, I was, like, nearly passing out from doing those things. Which sounds quite dramatic, but it's true. It's a really strange thing. When you start to act and adopt a certain physicality, your body starts to react to it, too. I injured my hip. It doesn't look like it, but I injured my hip playing Viserys."
Paddy Considine injured his hip
In "Lord of the Tides," the eighth episode of the season, the actor was filming King Viserys' final walk down the throne room. In the completed scene, the frail, dying King stumbles step by step, forcing himself to walk to his throne so he may speak in favor of his daughter. For Considine, repeatedly filming that scene was exhausting, and it led him to hurt his hip.
"Just take after take of that final walk down the throne room, take after take after take—my hip went out. It's only just in the last few weeks got to a place where I feel like it's back to where it should have been. There are all those little things. Then your oxygen levels [start] dropping, and you go, 'I don't want to be dramatic here...' It's interesting what the brain starts to tell the body."
Paddy Considine's breathtaking performance has already made him a fan-favorite for the upcoming awards season — the actor's ability to depict the character with such intricacy has made him a profoundly memorable character, despite his one-season-long screentime.