House Of The Dragon's Paddy Considine Learned His Scottish Accent From A GoT Legend
"House of the Dragon" brings the next installment of the "Game of Thrones" franchise to people's television screens. Set roughly 200 years before the events of the global phenomenon, "House of the Dragon" puts the emphasis on the Targaryen family, who are still very much in power, at least for the time being. The kingdom is ruled by King Viserys (Paddy Considine), who faces many insurmountable obstacles, including reaching a decision as to who will succeed him on the throne.
It's a massive franchise to step into, and Paddy Considine is undoubtedly an actor who can muster enough gravitas to portray a king impressively. But during a roundtable discussion Looper attended, he was asked if he sought out any help from Rory McCann, who played The Hound on the original "Game of Thrones." The two have worked together in the past on "Hot Fuzz," so while some connective tissue is there, Considine confirmed that he didn't reach out for any advice. However, he did share an intriguing story of how McCann inadvertently helped him on another project.
Rory McCann helped Paddy Considine with his Scottish accent on Macbeth
"Hot Fuzz" was a comedic masterpiece, in no small part thanks to the efforts of both Considine and McCann. Considine played Detective Sergeant Andy Wainwright, one of the members of the Sandford Police who gives Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) a lot of guff until the two finally manage to work together. Meanwhile, McCann notably played "Lurch," who responded to everything with "Yarp." With the impending release of "House of the Dragon," that's no longer the only connection the two actors share.
Paddy Considine related a story about how he was working on 2015's "Macbeth," which he starred in alongside Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, when he needed help with his Scottish accent to adequately portray Banquo. As he put it, "To get the accent, I got sent tapes to learn this Scottish accent, and it was Rory reading it. He read them out for me, so I could listen to them and learn them. And it wasn't something I asked; they just arrived. And I was going, 'I can't ... familiar with this voice.' And then I asked, 'Who's narrated these lines for me?" Ah, it's Rory."
It's a pleasant bit of happenstance that proves all things are connected in Westeros.
The ten-episode HBO Original drama HOUSE OF THE DRAGON debuts SUNDAY, AUGUST 21 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO