[This story contains spoilers from season one, episode three of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.]
Finn Bennett kind of misses playing the good guy.
“There is a short-term catharsis,” the British star muses to The Hollywood Reporter about being the villain. “But I kind of want to be a nice boy again. I’ve played really nice characters before, and I miss those characters — I’m not sure I miss Aerion in that way.”
You’d be forgiven for thinking he relishes playing the Targaryen prince in the latest HBO Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Such is the magnetism of Bennett’s performance — assured, playful, and devilishly spiteful — that it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t entirely enjoying himself.
In Ira Parker’s six-part series, based on George R. R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, we’ve been following breakout star Peter Claffey (Ser Duncan the Tall) and a 9-year-old Dexter Sol Ansell (his young squire, Egg) as they come up against all kinds of obstacles in Dunk’s bid to transcend his lowly rank of hedge knight. It’s all culminated in Ashford, where our six-foot-something protagonist is vying to compete in a jousting tournament. As new episodes drop every week, fans have been offered the chance to consume Westeros content under the guise of a show pegged as less chessboard politics and ruthless war, and a little more comedic, rags-to-riches energy.
Until, that is, episode three premiered Sunday night. “A lot of the press and commentary online about Seven Kingdoms has so far been, ‘It’s a very light-hearted, innocent show,’” continues Bennett, whose other credits include Black Doves, Warfare and True Detective opposite Jodie Foster. “Now, we’re faced with having to make some difficult choices as Dunk and as audience members — I think that’s exciting, that we move away from light-hearted jolly and back into something more familiar,” he adds, referencing the darker content of Seven Kingdoms‘ stablemates Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
In case you haven’t read the books (and don’t mind pretty sizable spoilers), episode three ended with a fiery stand-off as Dunk attempts to save the Dornish puppeteer he’s taken a fancy to (Tanzyn Crawford). He bursts into the tent and interrupts Aerion and his cronies, who are breaking her fingers as punishment for her sacrilegious, dragon-y storytelling. And when Aerion gleefully realizes he can use the opportunity to seize Dunk, his knights are stopped at the command of Egg, revealed to be the younger Targaryen brother, Aegon, nephew to the heir of the Iron Throne.
“This is now testing Dunk’s worldview,” says Bennett about where our lead duo goes from here. “Egg is one of his only friends in this new world without his master. He doesn’t have anybody.”
Below, Bennett digs into joining the Thrones universe. He talks about nerding out with Martin over English history, why Aerion took him a little while to figure out, and wishing he’d never seen any other Targaryen portrayals: “Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones, she’s almost like a prophet. She’s so stoic and calm, but has this real fire bubbling beneath the surface. It was maybe a kind of reckoning to see there are limits to what I can do and what works for me.”
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Did you know you were reading for a Targaryen when you were auditioning?
I did. This was my first time auditioning for any kind of Game of Thrones [show]. They sent through the audition. I went away. I read the book, actually, so I had an idea of who I was playing. But I really noticed, having read the other books, that this book really differed in terms of narrative and perspective. It’s all focused from Dunk’s point of view — which, two things: One, [it] informs all of the decisions you make as an actor. And two, I think a lot of press, a lot of people online, have commented on the tone of the show feeling very, very different. I would say it’s almost impossible to bring these books to life without a huge tonal shift. So those were a couple of things I was thinking about. I went in, I did the audition. I had been rehearsing the week before, reading the scenes out loud, trying in different ways, and I had come to the conclusion that this was 100 percent not for me, but I was going to go in and give it a shot anyway.
Why was that?
A lot of people have been asking, “Were you inspired by any of the Targaryen performances in House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones?” And it’s hard not to be. All of those actors are so brilliant at what they do, but they do something quite difficult. It’s very stoic and serious. They’re very, very, very still. I was finding that didn’t really work on me. It didn’t feel right. It’s quite abrasive to the tone of [A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms] to try and do something like that. So I was slightly disheartened that it wasn’t really working for me. But I said, “Okay, I’ll just scrap that.” I tried to go for something a bit more angry and spiky. I wanted [Aerion] to feel a bit more teenage-ry and slightly bratty, really. So I went and did that and I couldn’t really read anybody’s faces. I didn’t know how they were feeling. I got out, called my agent and was like “Well, that went horribly,” and forgot about it.
That was a really nice surprise when a couple of weeks later, they called me up and they were like, “You got the job.” It was nice, because I’ve been balancing from True Detective to Warfare to Black Doves to this.
What kind of knowledge did you have of the George R. R. Martin universe going into the audition?
Not as extensive as a lot of people I’ve encountered on this press tour. [Laughs.] Some of the fandom have such an intrinsic knowledge of the histories, like Shakespeare’s histories. They know exactly what rebellions are happening, what houses are fighting. I wouldn’t say I have that, but I am a big fan of the political landscape that George R. R. Martin sets up in the books and in the TV shows. That was also really important in making informed choices in Seven Kingdoms. I think the weight of history weighs very heavy on Aerion and there’s this sense that there’s a rebellion on the horizon — that the Targaryens don’t have the firm grasp on power they used to have — and that’s a nervous place for House Targaryen to be.
You’re right. It totally informs Aerion. It’s handy for you, as an actor approaching this story.
And I think it’s hard to justify a lot of his choices, but, frankly, he’s slightly embarrassed that they’re at this tourney. At first, he arrives bored and as though this is beneath him. Then when a Peter Claffey-shaped spanner [is thrown] in the works, he’s presented with an opportunity to strike fear and respect into the heart of his subjects. That’s a really nice, clear arc for Aerion.
What is really cool is, like you said, this does set a more light-hearted tone compared to its predecessors. But as soon as Aerion comes in, it feels like we snap back into the severity that we’re used to. How did Ira relay his vision to you all? Was it odd going into it knowing this was also a comedy?
Yeah, it’s really difficult, because I had watched Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon before I even had this audition. And in many ways, I wish I hadn’t, because it would have given me much less of a preconception about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I think what it required and what we got was brilliant leadership from Ira, from Sarah Bradshaw, our producer, and Owen [Harris, director]. It’s really bold and brave of them to make that choice when you’ve got so much fan expectation, to stay true to that vision. All they required of us was flexibility and to accept when something wasn’t working, [and] to do something totally different.
Did you enjoy playing the bad guy?
People ask that question a lot, because doing bad things can feel cathartic. You know? There is a pleasure in being angry and resentful. There is a short-term catharsis. There’s letting out aggression. [But] I think it can actually make me feel quite uncomfortable. And a lot of the time it makes you feel like you’re doing really bad acting, because you’re like, “God, I just feel like such a dick. It’s unjustified, I don’t feel like I’m believing in myself,” and it’s like, well, maybe you’re just doing really bad things. So yeah, I think a lot of people really love playing that villain, but I kind of want to be a nice boy again. I’ve played really nice characters before, and I miss those characters. I really miss them. I’m not sure I miss Aerion in that way. [Laughs]. I miss the wig, I miss the armor, I miss all my friends on set. But I don’t miss him.
That’s a sweet answer. But it’s really interesting that you were so cautious of being influenced by other Targaryen portrayals you’ve seen.
It’s hard not to be because they’re so fucking good. But for me, maybe, it was a bit of a sobering realization that what worked for them, their stillness… like Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones, she’s almost like a prophet. She’s so stoic and calm, but has this real fire bubbling beneath the surface. It was maybe a kind of reckoning to see there are limits to what I can do, and what works for me. Maybe those will change, as I get older and my face changes and I grow rounder. [Laughs.] But I was like, “This doesn’t really work for me, so I have to try something different here.”
Did you get to meet George R. R. Martin?
I did. I actually met him on the press tour. I didn’t meet him on the shoot. I really liked him. I really like history — I didn’t read history at university, I didn’t even go to university. But I really like the War of the Roses and the Hundred Years’ War. And I know that when George wrote the original series, the wall in Game of Thrones is based on Hadrian’s Wall in the north [of England] and I love that. I love that Game of Thrones is political swindling and conniving and backstabbing. You can take it out of Shakespeare’s histories and [events] that have actually happened in England and Europe and places worldwide.
[Martin] is a history buff, and he was talking to me about how he’d been writing for a really long time before he had the massive success that he enjoys today. And he said, “I was always trying to scale back. I was always trying to scale back because nothing was ever going to be made into a TV show or a film. And producers were saying, ‘It’s too expensive. You can’t do this.’” And he said it was weird that the thing that he sat down to write for himself and said, “I’m not going to care about scale. I’m going to do what I love. I’m going to write history, and I’m going to introduce all the dragons and all the fucking battles and all the bells and whistles,” and that’s the thing that got made. So I really got on with him because he’s a history buff and also because of his dedication to creative freedom.
I’ve talked to him too and I enjoyed it so much — he is a real nerd, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.
I think nerd can maybe inspire an interesting image in people’s minds. But, to me, it just means [being] incredibly passionate about something. And that’s all you can ask of a writer or a director or an actor — anybody creative — is to be incredibly passionate about something.
I always find this amazing with any writer, especially ones who pull off these ensemble feats. Game of Thrones is like cogs in a machine. If you change one thing, then the whole story changes. George’s avility to hold that Republic in his head beyond amazes me. I couldn’t do that without charting it all out on the wall!
You shot in Belfast, right?
The whole shoot in Belfast. For me personally, Belfast was amazing. My family is from Belfast and it had been a long time since I’d been back. So I was surrounded by all this family again, which was amazing. We shot an hour outside of Belfast and to the best of my knowledge, I cannot remember a day when I saw a green screen or a blue screen. Everything was built for us, and it was built beautifully.
You’d drive down to set, you would look out onto scores of tents that were arranged in all sizes. You could tell which houses they belonged to — one was the Baratheon tent, [for example]. Then the lists itself — where the jousting takes place — had this amazing platform erected where the nobility would sit. Stepping into that, you’re not having to imagine as much as you thought you needed to for a Game of Thrones series. I think it’s a thing that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms does really beautifully — that slightly scaled-back [feeling]. You’re not having to imagine dragons. You’re not looking at a tennis ball and performing. It was visceral and tangible, and [you’re] rolling around in the mud. It hurts, it gets cold. You really get all of those things. [Laughs.]
Let’s get into that big Egg/Aegon reveal in episode three. A lot of people will have gone into this show knowing exactly what happens, but for those who haven’t… How would you summarize what it means for the wider context of the series, what it means for Aerion, and audiences too?
I think it really changes things in a very exciting way for Aerion. Like I said, he comes into this tournament very bored. They shouldn’t be here. He knows it’s embarrassing. And when Dunk seizes him on stage and beats him up, he’s kind of got an excuse now to make an example of somebody. This guy stood up to authority, and he’s going to make a fucking example of him. And then when he says to Dunk, “If you’ve got nothing more to say,” and Dunk doesn’t say anything, it’s boring again. You know? It’s like, “Come on man, you’ve made your point. Keep going! Dive deeper!” And it’s all a bit, “Well, I’ll just punish this guy in front of everybody, and we’ll move on.” And then, when Egg bursts into the tent, the stakes are raised again. It’s suddenly really exciting for Aerion. He has an excuse to do something big and dramatic.
How it changes things for the audience — I think a lot of the press and commentary online about Seven Kingdoms has so far been like, “It’s a very light-hearted, innocent show.” I think this is now testing that worldview and testing Dunk’s worldview. Egg is one of his only friends in this new world without his master. He doesn’t have anybody, and something’s been ripped away from him. He’s constantly having the wool pulled from his eyes. That’s going to happen to the audience as well, because you’re seeing everything through his point of view. So now we’re faced with having to make some difficult choices as Dunk and as audience members. I think that’s exciting, that we move away from a less light-hearted jolly and back into something more familiar.
What sort of relationship-building did you do in your head regarding Aerion and Egg? We get glimpses of their brotherly relationship…
It was more a wider conversation with everybody you know? Sam Spruell, Bertie Carvel and Henry Ashton. I’m gonna steal Bertie’s line here, because when he was asked what drew him to this role, he said: Everybody has a family, or you have somewhere. And families are very complicated. This is a family under tremendous amounts of pressure. And I think Aerion, his brothers — the ones that are in the show anyway, I know there’s other siblings that I mentioned, but they’re not in this season — his oldest brother is an alcoholic, and his youngest brother is a runaway. He’s constantly being disappointed by his family, and he feels as though he needs to shoulder that responsibility. When he does what he does in the puppet tent, or what he does throughout the rest of the series… It’s trying to prove something to his father. That’s also a big part of Egg and Aerion’s relationship as well.
Is Dexter as cute in real life as he is on my screen? He is so impressive in this.
He’s absolutely adorable. He has this very sweet, sing-songy voice that’s absolutely adorable. When we did the series, he was nine years old, and when I saw him for press a couple of weeks ago, he’s now 11. Even in that short time frame, there’s something emotional about watching him grow up. But the maturity with which he shouldered the burden of leading a series is so, so astounding and so impressive, and it’s something I could never have dreamed of doing at his age. I still find it hard to even comprehend that I might ever [lead a show] one day. So, yeah, I was constantly impressed by his efforts and his dedication.
Nine! Good grief. How has it been navigating the passionate Thrones fanbase so far?
These types of shows survive because of the fan base. It’s a great honor to witness their passion, however it presents itself. I’d ask that they will be nice to me, of course, but to witness passion like that is really humbling. There were fans outside both premieres, and it was fucking cold, and I think that’s really, really beautiful. The press has so far been really good. I try and catch myself when I’m staying on Instagram too much, because I’m very much the sort of person that can read a hundred nice things and single out the bad thing and think about it all day. [Laughs.] I’m really happy with the response to the show.
You’ve worked with some incredible talent over the last few years: Keira Knightley, Alex Garland, the list goes on… Is there anyone in particular who’s given you some advice that’s stayed with you?
All of them, and the reason they can give me good advice is because they’ve done it themselves. The one I always shout out is Jodie Foster. When I worked with Jodie for seven months and we did True Detective together, it’s not so much advice but I just really admire the way she lives her life. She lives a very private life, which I think is admirable, especially when you’re a twice Academy Award-winning actor. And when I asked her about how I should be preparing, she told me to go out dancing. And I think what she was saying was you can do all the work you want, but really it depends on what happens on the day and how other people are going to act, how you have to respond to that, and how you listen to that. Her advice was not to overthink it. And I have a tendency to overthink it.
What’s next for you? Do you have a dream director you’d want to work with?
It’s always so awkward in press when you’re just like, “I want to work with this person!” and nothing happens. [Laughs.] I think we’re at such a brilliant time in film and television. The quality control over the last couple of years has been so astoundingly high that there’s so many possibilities. I would like to work again with some of the actors that I’ve already worked with, or some of my friends who are actors. I was speaking to my friend the other day, we were texting. She’s an actor. She was saying [that] working with your friends, you already have that chemistry. You already trust each other. When there’s budget and time constraints, it’s really nice not to have to build that chemistry with somebody and just go into it. So I would like to do something with some of my friends.
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms releases new episodes Sundays at 10 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max.
Original Article on Hollywood Reporter