‘House of the Dragon’ Star Ewan Mitchell Channeled His Own Matt Smith ‘Doctor Who’ Fandom into Aemond’s Idoltry of Daemon

In House of the Dragon Season 2, the rivalry between Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and his nephew Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) intensifies quickly. After all, Season 1 of the HBO hit ends with Aemond losing control of his monstrous dragon Vhagar, killing his own nephew — and Daemon’s stepson — Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) and kickstarting a bloody civil war between the “Greens” and “Blacks.” The volatile Daemon responds quickly to Luke’s death, establishing Aemond as the primary target for his rage. And it’s nothing Aemond arguably hasn’t seen coming.

Fans of House of the Dragon will remember that in Season 1 Episode 8 “The Lord of Driftmark,” Aemond was caught looking on at Daemon with a blend of awe and scorn. Aemond’s one remaining eye glistens with a strain of jealousy when he watches Daemon strike Ser Vaemond Velaryon (Wil Johnson) down in the middle of court. Later, that evening, the two had an electrifying stare down after the family’s banquet ends in a near brawl.

After House of the Dragon Season 1, Ewan Mitchell revealed to The Face that he arrived for work on day one with the idea of avoiding Matt Smith altogether until that seismically charged meeting. “I just wanted to keep that separation, so that I never saw Matt and I only ever saw Daemon,” he said.

When Decider recently caught up with Ewan Mitchell during an in-person roundtable interview, he revealed to us that the idea was ever-so-slightly influenced by his own fanboy feelings for Matt Smith.

“I think I was a massive fan of Doctor Who growing up and Matt Smith was, you know, I thought his Doctor really, it was really exciting and very youthful,” Mitchell said. “It was electric and it was that little more accessible for the 13-year-old me.”

“And Aemond, he kind of idolizes Daemon in a sense. He kind of puts him on this platform, you know? His appearance speaks to that and I wanted to lean into it, you know? That kid in me dreamt of going on adventures with Matt Smith.”

Mitchell, of course, is referring to the fact that if you took away Aemond’s eyepatch, he basically dresses exclusively in Daemon Targaryen cosplay. An obsession that Mitchell wanted to stoke for the aforementioned Season 1 Episode 8 banquet sequence.

“And Aemond, he kind of idolizes Daemon in a sense. He kind of puts him on this platform, you know? His appearance speaks to that and I wanted to lean into it, you know? That kid in me dreamt of going on adventures with Matt Smith.”

Ewan Mitchell

“I just thought there was something interesting in never taking Matt Smith and Daemon off that podium,” Mitchell said. “And so long as he was okay with it, so long as [House of the Dragon showrunner] Ryan Condal was okay with it, that was something that I wanted to explore with the character and their relationship and their dynamic.”

“And I think that moment in Episode 8, it pays off. You know, around that banquet scene. It’s like lightning in a bottle: that stare-down, that face-off.”

Funnily enough, Mitchell has loyally stuck to Aemond’s “Team Green” while shooting Season 2. EW recently reported that Mitchell and Emma D’Arcy, who plays the Black’s leader, Rhaenyra, had a tacit understanding to avoid each other on the set of Season 2. D’Arcy said, “I passed Ewan in the car park. We sort of nodded to each other. It’s almost like we have agreed to silence or something, which I kind of enjoy honestly.”

Given that the soft-spoken Mitchell has this penchant for avoiding costars on set, Decider wondered if there was anyone in the House of the Dragon cast that he did enjoy hanging out with on set.

“You know, me and Tom Glynn-Carney, we continually work on that brotherly relationship that maybe they wish the two of them had in the show,” he said referring to the actor playing Aemond’s older brother, Aegon II.

“So Tom Glynn-Carney, Fabien Frankel [who plays Ser Criston Cole], basically all of the side of the Greens, primarily.”

That said, there’s at least one member of Team Black, Mitchell makes time for. “But also, you know, Harry Collett [who plays Rhaenyra’s heir Jaecerys] and a few of the others on the other side. It’s, you know, it’s a collaboration at the end of the day,” he said.

It’s always a collaboration at the end of the day for Mitchell, whether that means avoiding Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy or encouraging co-star Phia Saban to lean into the fandom’s ‘ship for their characters, “Helaemond.”

Fans can see the fruits of all this collaboration when House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16 at 9 PM ET.