Why Anthony From HBO's Task Looks So Familiar

FBI agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) should be grateful he's got a Lord Commander of the Kingsguard on his team in "Task." Yes, "House of the Dragon" fans, you're correct. That's Ser Criston Cole, aka Fabien Frankel, on the squad as Anthony Grasso to bring down these elusive home invaders led by determined and down-on-his luck single Dad, Robbie (Tom Pelphrey). For fans of the "Game of Thrones" prequel series, "Task" might prove a tough watch, given that Criston Cole is one of the most widely hated characters on "House of the Dragon."

Since his debut in the series in 2022, Criston Cole has been, let's say, a complex soul, making choices that led him to go to the top of fans' hitlists. Naturally, as is often the case with the most toxic territories of certain fandoms, playing one of the worst characters in the show resulted in Frankel getting bombarded with hateful comments on social media, which he laughed off. In an interview with Esquire, the "House of the Dragon" star confessed, "I only ever see, 'I hate Criston Cole. This dude's a murderous f****r. I hope he dies.' That's the only s**t that ever makes its way back to me." The strong reaction, though, clearly shows that Frankel has done a great job playing the conflicted Kingsguard, and has a lot of talent to bring to "Task"

Sometimes all a good crime thriller needs is a detective with something to prove, and that feels like it might be the case with Frankel's Anthony. Between clean-conscious Aleah (Thuso Mbedu) and the seemingly volatile and distracted Lizzie (Alison Oliver), Anthony seems a little more switched on with the job at hand and keen to communicate with his new boss. He also thankfully seems a bit more lighthearted than Ser Criston Cole, who is often crippled with guilt and duty.

Of course, this is all after only spending a matter of minutes with Frankel's character in "Task," but this could still be a great change for the "House of the Dragon" star. He might actually have audiences backing him this time around! When speaking to Esquire about Anthony, Frankel showed his immense enthusiasm in getting into deep into the agent's background, which in turn led him to fall in love with the show's setting. "I play a young detective with the most Philly slang out of everyone, because I'm from South Philly. I talk about Angelo's broccoli rabe. I'm doing a Wawa run every day. I mean, I'm right in the thick of all the Philly references." 

We'll have to keep watching to see how well he's done his research and, more importantly, how "Task" will measure up against other HBO miniseries.

The first episode of "Task" is now available on HBO Max, with new episodes dropping every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.