Tom Taylor’s Cregan was inspired by Sean Bean’s performance as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones

Tom Taylor brings the legendary leader Cregan Stark, the Wolf of the North, to life as the Targaryen civil war rages on. The stage is set for a thrilling ride and Jacaerys Velaryon seeks to secure the North’s support at Winterfell. The fate of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance but he managed to get their support. Donning a heavy leather costume in the scorching English heat, Taylor channeled his inner “gangster” to bring the formidable Cregan Stark to life.

Tom Taylor Draws Inspiration from Sean Bean

Tom Taylor, who plays Cregan Stark in House of the Dragon, drew inspiration from his character’s notable descendants, including Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) from the original Game of Thrones series. He reveals that he particularly looked to Sean Bean’s portrayal for guidance, seeking to capture the same commanding presence that defines the Stark leaders.

Tom Taylor aimed to convey the weight of responsibility and gravity in Cregan’s voice, just as Sean Bean’s performance had so effectively done. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly mentioned,

 “I did use Sean Bean a lot,” he says. “For some reason, I felt like I needed to because he’s Sean Bean’s great, great, great, great, great-granddad. I wanted him to have the same presence because the voice tells so much. When they speak, you can hear the weight on all their shoulders.”

Credits: HBO

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 Tom Taylor’s Audition Story

Tom Taylor auditioned for Cregan Stark in early 2023, using cryptic script sides for a project codenamed “Red Gun”. Months later, he met with producers, including showrunner Ryan Condal and executive producer Alan Taylor, a veteran of Game of Thrones who directed the season 2 premiere episode. His accent impressed producers Ryan Condal and Alan Taylor, which he believes was key to landing the role. Taylor aimed to perfect Cregan’s Shakespearean tone to avoid sounding “cringey”.

“I think they were quite surprised with my accent,” the actor recalls of that interaction. “I think maybe if I couldn’t do the accent, it wouldn’t be happening. It was such an important thing to get the tone of Cregan right, so when he is speaking, it’s not like a cringey speech because a lot of the wording is almost Shakespearean.”

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