House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn-Carney Thinks King Aegon Is a “Tragic Case”

He’s not dead…yet. In “Regent,” episode five of House of the Dragon’s second season, King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) has barely survived his dragon battle with the late Rhaenys (Eve Best) and, surprisingly, his brother, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). He’s sequestered in his bed, badly burned, and hanging on by a thread as the castle’s maesters work overtime to save his life.

While Aegon is out of commission, a regent must be chosen to rule King’s Landing, leading to a showdown between Aemond and Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) for temporary control of the throne. On a new episode of Still Watching, Glynn-Carney drops by to discuss why, exactly, Aegon went into battle and what Aegon’s official king’s name should be.

Despite the fact that Alicent served as regent while her husband, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), was bedridden, the high council opts for Prince Aemond, the heir to the throne, to rule in his brother’s stead. It’s not long before Alicent realizes that Aemond might have had something to do with Aegon’s accident—but when she questions her lover, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), about exactly what happened on the battlefield, he refuses to answer. Whether Aegon is aware that he was nearly murdered by his own brother is unclear—but what is clear is that he’s regained at least some of his faculties by episode’s end, whispering “Mummy” as Alicent leaves his bedside.

It’s clear that King Aegon won’t be riding dragons again anytime soon. Read on or listen below for our interview with Glynn-Carney, who has a great idea for Aegon’s official sobriquet.

Vanity Fair: King Aegon could be a very one-note villain character, but in your hands is not. How did you approach calibrating Aegon?

Tom Glynn-Carney: I think anybody who has the darker side to them as the more prominent side— the side that people see first—there’s always a reason for that. I dug into that and found a lot of his boyish vulnerability, insecurities, and self-hatred—stuff that he’d been drip-fed his entire life. He wasn’t even a spare, you know? He was just completely ignored. He was invisible to most people, which is why he behaved in such a way—to numb himself. But also to say, Hey, I’m here as well. Any attention was good attention for Aegon. I find him less of a villain and more of a tragic case.

Can you talk a little bit about why Aegon decided to fly to Rook’s Rest at all?

It was that moment—well, it’s an accumulation of moments—but that one in particular where Alicent says, “Do exactly what is required of you: nothing.” That was the final dagger in the heart. A real cold reminder that he really is seen as being useless. A pawn for Alicent and Otto [Rhys Ifans] to use as a puppet. But at the end of the day, the law of the land states that he’s the monarch. He’s the king. He’s the person to call the shots. And no one’s gonna fucking stop him from getting on that dragon if he wants to. So he got absolutely obliterated drunk and thought, I’m gonna show them.

What was your experience like shooting the big dragon fight scene?

Cool, man. It’s kind of a little boy’s dream. It’s just something that you think of when you’re a child as being the coolest thing in the world. And it really was. They basically build a screen around you so you know where to look: what’s expected, what’s coming at you, what’s leaving you. Your entire perspective is quite clear. And then amongst that, you’re clad in all this armor that has been expertly crafted by some amazing workmanship. But then again, you’re crouched over this big saddle, strapped in, feeling like you can’t move. That crane has really got a lot of work to do to make it look like you’re moving.

At the beginning of the season, Aegon says that Aemond is his closest confidant, and by episode four, Aemond has basically tried to kill him. Where do they stand now? And what’s your relationship with Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond?

Oh, Aegon and Aemond’s relationship is very different to Tom and Ewan’s relationship. Let’s put that out there [laughs].

Look, that is sibling rivalry on a very intense scale, isn’t it? It’s the flip of the switch that can happen when somebody feels pushed out or somebody feels like there’s been injustice. I always felt like Aemond saw himself being in that position of power and dealing with it better than Aegon would deal with it. But then again, his birth certificate states otherwise. It was bound to happen at some point, wasn’t it?

Was there a particular scene that you felt extra challenged by or invigorated by?

He’s never in the same frame of mind twice in one day. He’s all over the place. Keeping up with his erratic mood swings was the hard part, and was this thing that I was having to stay really focused on. There wasn’t particularly one scene that I thought, Oh God, not this one, because all of them are challenging in different ways. Even the ones where he’s still and more focused are difficult, because you’ve got that sort of inner Aegon rhythm that is rapid. It’s very different to mine. It’s maintaining that, but still keeping the tension of the scene. I relished the opportunity to play someone with such range and creative potential from an acting point of view.

Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent, has noted that you two are not very far apart in age at all, and yet are playing mother and son. How did you guys work together to create that filial dynamic?

Every scene that I’ve had with Olivia, there is never a moment that isn’t filled. Everything is just so complex and deeply entrenched in her. She means everything she says. It’s a rare skill to have. As an actor, she has that in truckloads. It’s a gift to be able to work with her, to play her son.

Yeah, [it’s] hilarious. She’s only a year older than me. I think we manage it because we get on so well. We’re pals as well, you know. I love Olivia to bits. Trust her wholeheartedly. We have a laugh. We don’t take it too seriously. We have common ground on that. But then in the moments where the work is happening, it’s all we care about. We care immensely. It’s one of those things where in the downtime, after we wrap, we can go for a drink. We can have a laugh. We connect on a personal level as well as a professional level. I think that’s what sort of breeds a healthy and believable performance thing relationship-wise.

There’s an amusing scene where Aegon is sitting around with the lads and talking about what his sobriquet should be. Should he be “Aegon the Brave,” “Aegon the Whatever,” etc. What do you think he should be called?

Aegon Toast, probably.