‘House of the Dragon’ Actor Ewan Mitchell Admits He Hasn’t Watched ‘Game of Thrones’

Despite being on a Game of Thrones , Ewan Mitchell hasn’t actually ever watched the hit HBO fantasy drama. Mitchell stars on House of the Dragon as Prince Aemond Targaryen. The series serves as a prequel, taking place nearly 200 years before the events of GoT. Even though one would think that the actors in the prequel would have watched Game of Thrones, that is not entirely true.

While speaking to sister site ComicBook.com, Mitchell admitted he hasn’t “seen the original Game of Thrones” after being asked a question about the Emmy-winning series. “I have a confession to make. I’ve never seen it, and I didn’t want to watch it going into this role. I didn’t want it to inform my decisions in any way, shape, or form, you know, whether it be consciously or subconsciously. I wanted to bring something fresh. Aemond is one of a kind, you know.”

Considering House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones, watching the original series isn’t necessarily required watching, so it makes sense. Many actors who star in adapted work, reboots, revivals, or spinoffs don’t always watch or read the original work in order to bring their own take on the character. Since the Targaryen family was at the forefront of Game of Thrones, there would be a lot already known about the family, so going into the prequel with fresh eyes was a good idea.

It’s possible that Mitchell won’t be watching Game of Thrones until after House of the Dragon has completed, so he continues bringing something fresh to the franchise. Season 2 is set to premiere on June 16 on HBO, so at least it won’t be long until fans are reunited with Prince Aemond. Mitchell not watching the original series just shows that you don’t even have to be an avid GoT fan to enjoy House of the Dragon. 

As for the series that Ewan Mitchell likely is watching, Season 2 of House of the Dragon will pick up following the events of the Season 1 finale, where Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) crowned her son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) as the new king and one of her sons killing one of Rhaenyra’s sons, kicking off what will surely be an intense war. And fans should tune in on June 16 on HBO to see what happens.