'House of the Dragon': Steve Toussaint Reacts to Racists Whining About His Character
House of the Dragon star Steve Toussaint has responded directly to those that are angry to see him and other Black actors cast in the series. Toussaint plays Lord Corlys "The Sea Snake" Velaryon, the head of a noble house that is closely allied with the Targaryens. He does not give these complaints much attention, nor does he let them bother him.
Toussaint was a guest on the latest episode of The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon with James Concepcion earlier this month. He acknowledged: "There were some people who were not quite so keen on people who look like me playing this part, which was a little bit annoying because it's a big enough task as it is without having to deal with that stuff." A few days later, he elaborated a bit more in interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"I didn't realize it was a bigger deal until I was racially abused on social media when it was announced," Toussaint said. "Yeah, that s- happened." To be specific, he said that commenters flooded his social media with artwork and fan art from the books where Corlys was depicted as white, adding: "Then someone else referred to me by the N-word. There was also a Black American chap who is a big fan of the show who contacted me saying that he gets abuse because he championed me for the part."
"On platforms like Reddit, which I'm not on, there are such discussions going on about it," he said. "I was like, 'Oh wow,' and then I thought, 'okay, this means a lot to some people, but I can't allow that to bother me.'"
As many critics and book fans have pointed out before, casting Toussaint and other Black actors to play House Velaryon does not necessarily deviate from the story told in the books. In fact, YouTuber Joe Magician makes a good case that it enhances the story. However, his reasoning requires some spoilers to explain, as fans will see by the end of Season 1.
House of the Dragon co-showrunner Ryan Condal discussed this issue with Entertainment Weekly as well. He said: "The world is very different now than it was 10 years ago when [Game of Thrones] all started. It's different than 20 years ago when Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings. These types of stories need to be more inclusive than they traditionally have been. It was very important for [co-creator Miguel Sapochnik] and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen, just to put it very bluntly."
House of the Dragon premieres on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.