Paddy Considine says Viserys was the best character he has ever played in his life

Paddy Considine left a huge impact on the viewers of House of the Dragon, and rightfully so. He gave so much new depth and meaning to the character of King Viserys that even author George R.R. Martin admitted that “King Viserys Targaryen I, as portrayed by Paddy Considine on the show, is better than the way I wrote King Viserys in ‘Fire & Blood.’ In an interview with Complex, the actor speaks about Viserys and says, “He’s the best character I’ve ever played in my life. I was able to bring so many elements to him. To play that kind of character, in that kind of world, was an absolute joy.”

“To play somebody that was not corrupted by power and to play someone with his virtues was the pleasure of the job.” He continues, “to me, he’s the most fully fleshed character I’ve ever had the privilege to play. He’s got so many dimensions.” Considine also explained how he looked at the character, “I saw a really human story, a tragic story, and the love story about a man who, very early on, loses the love of his life and never recovers from it. [He] carries the guilt of that through his entire life, right to his dying last breath until he’s reunited.

On Aemma and Rhaenyra

“I think the minute they burn Aemma’s body at her funeral pyre, that man starts to die anyway.” The actor explains, “that’s what I’ve played; I was playing this tragedy for a love that was not existent on-screen anymore,” he says. “That’s what Viserys saw every time he looks at Rhaenyra. That’s why he couldn’t chastise, that’s why he couldn’t go fully in on her because all he ever saw was Aemma. She was the last remaining piece of Aemma. I was just playing this tragic character.”

When the interviewer asks him if Viserys knew the truth about Jacaerys and Lucerys, Paddy says, “He knows the truth about this”. He elaborates, “He’d just do anything to protect Rhaenyra. Otherwise, it makes him look kind of silly, and he’s not. He knows full well. He’s not an idiot. He’s living in ignorance. He warns Alicent—I can’t remember the episode—but he warns her not to speak of it, to leave it, and not speak because it’s dangerous and it’s treasonous. But he’s not a fool.”

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