Paddy Considine nearly passed out due to low oxygen levels while filming Viserys’ death

“The Lord of the Tides,” the eighth episode of House of the Dragon, was one of the most painful episodes in Game of Thrones history. The episode recounts the noble King Viserys I Targaryen’s departure from this world after his last-ditch attempt to rejoin his family. Paddy Considine‘s portrayal of King Viserys was lauded by fans, critics, and even George R. R. Martin himself.

Viserys’ pain reminded Paddy Considine of his mother

In his recent interview with Variety, Considine opened up about his personal loss and how he saw that in Viserys, “There’s a couple of things in it. I’d seen illness myself. My mom ended up blind and lost both of her legs to diabetes. She very much had those qualities that Viserys had, too. She tried to remain dignified, but there was a part of her that had just given up on herself. That was a difficult thing as a son to watch.”

Paddy Considine suffered low oxygen levels on House of the Dragon

Considine talked about his near-death experience, “Playing somebody who’s dying is a strange thing, especially a prolonged death. When you do it over a period of days, and your breathing’s shallow — my oxygen level started to go down. I had to be taken off set and given regular fresh air, because I was nearly passing out. It’s almost like your brain starts to tell your body that you are sick. It’s really quite weird.”

Paddy Considine saw his father while filming Viserys’ death

He also revealed how Viserys’ death reminded him of his father. “Also, my wife and daughter watched Episode 8 when it aired in the U.K. I was in another room because I didn’t want to see it. My wife says, “You’ve done the work. You need to see it,” and she showed me the episode. The end, when he lies in the bed, it was very shocking to me, because I looked the image of my dad when he was dying of cancer. The image of him.”

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