Interview
Paddy Considine’s portrayal of Viserys in Episode 8 made Director Geeta Patel cry on set
The eighth episode of Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is finally here. It was anticipated for a long time, being a significant point in the storyline where a lot of things happen that will have an ominous effect over the rest of the seasons. After years of constantly struggling with illness, the noble King Viserys dies in episode 8, and his death leaves the entire kingdom in shambles. But before his end, his last act of trying to bring his family back together left everyone in tears, including the episode’s director Geeta Patel.
In the most recent episode of the Official Game of Thrones podcast, Patel talked about Viserys’ last walk, and how Paddy Considine’s performance brought her to tears.
She said, “It is the reason why I direct. It’s the best part of the job, is working with actors. Paddy was magical. He would do every take differently, make me cry almost every take. And then we would call cut… and he would start cracking jokes. Sometimes singing and dancing. I mean, what a guy. The only word that comes to mind is magical. He’s one of those people who know their character. Spends time thinking about his character.”
“I remember one time, he said to me, we were getting close to shooting his final scene, and he said, “So do you know what Viserys believes is gonna happen when he dies?” And so we talked about it. He talked more with Ryan and Miguel. But the point is that he… he became Viserys.”
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