Paddy Considine Considers House Of The Dragon's Viserys The 'Greatest Character' He's Ever Played
In "House of the Dragon," the Targaryens are the main attraction. A dragon-riding royal family filled with ambitious personalities and a talent for terrible decision-making? The levelheaded Stark honor is looking pretty damn boring compared to the utter chaos that Daenerys' ancestors are capable of. Instead of sulking bastards and brooding princelings, the prequel series follows the antics of a wife-murdering agent of chaos (Daemon), an emo princess with a fiery spirit (Rhaenyra), and *checks notes* a spineless king with a love for Legos (Viserys).
When we first meet him, Viserys (Paddy Considine) is a bit of a Targaryen anomaly. He no longer rides a dragon, spends much of his time reminiscing about the historic greatness of Old Valyria, and, despite being the one with a crown on his head, doesn't always seem to be in charge of what's happening. By the time the first few episodes draw to a close, we even have plenty of reason to resent Viserys: His wife dies by his order, he's painfully ignorant to the ambitions of his most trusted advisor, and his family is falling apart because of his own bad decisions. (Did he have to marry his daughter's childhood best friend? Did he not think it wise to warn her beforehand?)
So it's a testament to Paddy Considine's performance that we could never feel such simple hatred towards Viserys, a character imbued with so much conflict and humanity that we can't help but feel for him as the season progresses. As it turns out, Considine thinks Viserys is the greatest character he's ever played.
Visery's final stand
Critics and viewers alike have been singing the praises of Paddy Considine for months now, and much of it is owed to his performance in the eighth episode of the series. "The Lord of the Tides" is essentially Visery's last stand because (spoiler alert), the king doesn't survive the night. After making a long walk to his throne, defending his daughter's family, and making a final plea to his House to put aside their differences, Viserys dies quietly in bed.
After episodes spent languishing and slowly decaying, Viserys finally seizes an opportunity to remind us who he is. But believe it or not, that victorious moment also happens to be the episode that Considine initially avoided. During an interview on the Adam Buxton Podcast, Considine revealed that he only watched the episode after his wife and daughter convinced him to see how his final onscreen moment shook out. He explained that it ended up being an emotional experience:
"Years ago, I'd watched my dad die of cancer and he just went downhill rapidly from being diagnosed to being on death's door. He became skeletal so rapidly. So, when [my wife] showed me that end thing and my face came up I just burst into tears because I looked the image of my dad when he was dying, the image of him, and it was shocking. It was really, really shocking to me. I'd put so much of my mum's characteristics into this character, Viserys, but when I saw that I thought 'That's my dad' and it was terrifying. So, it was pretty impactful stuff."
Viserys marks a high point in Paddy Considine's career
This isn't the first time that Considine has mentioned the crucial influence that his parents had on his "House of the Dragon" performance. While playing Viserys, he gave a lot of consideration to his father's sickness and the way it impacted his family. Clearly, tapping into those emotional truths bolstered the performance.
Naturally, the political impact of Viserys' death loomed over every episode of the series; we watched him lose limbs, collapse, and spend entire episodes confined to his bed. All the while, the question of who would sit on the Iron Throne was at the front of our minds. But in "The Lords of the Tides," for a few brief moments, none of that matters. The emotional impact becomes more important — the weight of Viserys' death and what it means for his loved ones takes precedent. Reflecting on the role, Considine added:
"The King Viserys character in 'House of the Dragon,' I think that's probably the greatest character I've ever played, in my eyes. The story was right. The character was right."
Considine is certainly not alone in this line of thinking. Not only do audiences agree that he was incredible as Viserys, but George R. R. Martin himself has given his stamp of approval. In a blog post after the episode, he wrote that Considine's take on the character is "so much more powerful and tragic and fully-fleshed than my own version in 'Fire and Blood' that I am half tempted to go back and rip up those chapters and rewrite the whole history of his reign."