Paddy Considine On Personal Tragedies That Helped Him Prepare For ‘House Of The Dragon’ Role
Paddy Considine’s portrayal of King Viserys I in “House of the Dragon” is laudable. Considine recently spoke to Variety and disclosed how his personal losses and tragedies helped him to play Viserys in the show. When asked how he felt playing someone who became so infirm and vulnerable, he said: “There’s a couple of things
Paddy Considine’s portrayal of King Viserys I in “House of the Dragon” is laudable. Considine recently spoke to Variety and disclosed how his personal losses and tragedies helped him to play Viserys in the show. When asked how he felt playing someone who became so infirm and vulnerable, he said:
“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. 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.”
Considine also revealed that his father battled severe diseases and was on deathbed. He disclosed that he was thinking about his dad while filming the show.
“Yeah, I definitely was. My father was really fighting. The nurses came around, they said he has 24 hours. Then it was three days later, and they’re looking at you going, I don’t know what’s keeping him going. I remember one day looking into his eyes, and I just said to him, ‘Dad…’ — this is very difficult. [Long pause.] But I said, ‘Dad, just let go. Just let go, Dad.’ And he couldn’t.”
He added: “He didn’t want to let go. You know, this is big stuff, but times in his life, he’d attempted to take his own life. And then when I see him dying, I wasn’t sure if he finally was like, ‘Actually, I really want to live,’ or ‘I am fucking terrified of dying.’ I still don’t know to this day. But sometimes when people pass, I feel like they know. It’s like when a dog goes away to die on its own. And I felt that very much with Viserys.”
