'House of the Dragon': Matt Smith says number of sex scenes was 'slightly too much' for him

There’s been a lot of discussion around whether the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, will emulate the vibe of the original series. Co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik has said the new HBO show will “complement rather than reinvent” GoT, and will be something different than the original. 

One thing that appears to be carrying over from Game of Thrones, however, is the number of sex scenes we’ll be seeing. In an interview with Rolling Stone UK, Matt Smith — who plays the blond-wigged Prince Daemon Targaryen on the show — admitted that he thought there might be a smidge too many moments in the bedchamber, at least for his character. 

“You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’” Smith told the magazine. “And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’ I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we’re living in]?’ And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.”

Representing the books written by George R.R. Martin, however, resulted in Smith having “slightly too much” time in the brothel than he would have personally preferred. Martin’s Fire & Blood — the book House of the Dragon is based on — did have Daemon as a frequenter of those types of establishments, so many sex scenes are in line for his character.

The things actors must do, alas, to stay true to the source material.

House of the Dragon premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. ET.

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