House Of The Dragon's Cast Played Their Own Game Of Thrones
Lena Headey's character of Cersei Lannister once said in "Game of Thrones," "When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win, or you die." Whether or not she realized how true her words would become is anybody's guess, but the long pursuit of the Iron Throne — and by extension, control of Westeros — is a long-standing objective of many of the noble houses in popular television series from HBO. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) hails from a long bloodline of dragon-riding and fire-immune individuals, and she chooses to pursue her supposed birthright to rule Westeros by bringing together former slaves, brutal raiders, dragons, and highly trained soldiers in order to take by force what is hers.
Other families have a bit more subtlety in their actions, like House Tyrell, which aims to control the Seven Kingdoms through manipulation, while the Lannisters (or what's left of them) attempt to cling to power through fear. "House of the Dragon" is an upcoming spin-off show that is set to premiere on August 21, 2022. As a prequel series, the Targaryens are very much the family in control of the Iron Throne, but it seems as if the cast members had their very own game of musical chairs involving the familiar set piece.
The actor who plays King Viserys was very protective of the Iron Throne
As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the fictional struggle of who gets to sit upon the Iron Throne transferred to its real-life cast members. Eve Best, who plays Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, said that Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys I Targaryen, takes his role very seriously both on-screen and off, and was very possessive of the Iron Throne. Steve Toussaint, who plays Lord Corlys Velaryon, added, "It was like it was his. At one point I said to him — because my character has a throne too, but it's nowhere near like that. I said, 'You can sit on mine if I can sit on' and he was like, 'Nah.'"
However, these two weren't the only ones who aimed to stake a claim on the Iron Throne while the cameras weren't rolling and Considine wasn't paying attention to his fictional throne. Olivia Cooke, who plays Lady Alicent Hightower, said of her experiences, "As soon as I saw the Iron Throne in rehearsals I ran straight up to it and plopped my a** on it. But on set, Paddy was quite territorial, so when he wasn't looking I'd do a quick [sit]."
Unfortunately for Considine, Best was able to sneak some time on the Iron Throne displayed at San Diego Comic-Con, while Toussaint joked that he was once again denied by Considine. "He shifted me again!" Toussaint said. "I was shooting it and then he walked up with that big grin of his and I was like, 'OK, I'll leave.'" Needless to say, it appears as if sitting on the Iron Throne is serious business. At this point, people should know not to get between a Targaryen and their fancy chairs.