Interview
House of the Dragon’s Criston Cole was initially supposed to be a “Jason Momoa type”
Actor Jason Momoa is definitely one of the coolest celebrities in Hollywood right now. Despite his sad ending with the DCEU in the Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, he still remains a fan-favorite. His role as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones is one of his most memorable characters ever.
So when House of the Dragon showrunners went on to look for their next handsome hunk, they were quite clear, they wanted someone like Momoa.
House of the Dragon showrunners were looking for a Jason Momoa type Criston Cole
The casting process for the show was pretty long, and the showrunners had specific features in mind. In a recent interview with NYTimes, Frankel recalled, “I did the audition, and heard nothing back other than that they were looking for a slightly more Jason Momoa type for the part. That certainly wasn’t me, and I really didn’t think about it again.”
“What I still don’t know, and I’m fascinated to know, is whether they couldn’t find their Jason Momoa type, or if they decided to change their casting brief,” he said. “If the opportunity arises to ask them, I will.”
Fabien Frankel on his popularity post House of the Dragon
The show eventually did a pretty good job with the castings, with fans being in awe of all the characters that took them back to Westeros. And Frankel was definitely one of the better ones, hence we can say being not like Momoa worked out in his favor.
Still, his fame has kept him grounded, as he recalled, “London’s a good city at keeping you grounded because people tend to be quite private and un-invasive. You hear all these stories of, ‘I couldn’t walk down the street,’ but I don’t have any of that. I can count on two hands the amount of times people on the street have taken notice.”