House of the Dragon Season 2: Exclusive Interview with Tom Glynn-Carney

After a two-year gap, House of the Dragon Season 2 is nearly here, and with it comes a war that pits Targaryen against Targaryen. Season 1 showed us the beginnings of this era of House Targaryen, and we were quickly introduced to King Viserys (Paddy Considine), who names his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) as his heir before remarrying and having a son named Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) with his second wife. When Viserys dies, the family is torn in half by a misunderstanding that leads Aegon to be crowned instead of Viserys' long-standing heir, Rhaenyra. War soon follows with those who support Aegon II Targaryen calling themselves the Greens, while those who support his older half-sister Rhaenyra Targaryen calling themselves the Blacks. Though Aegon II now finds himself on the Iron Throne in King's Landing, he's hardly prepared for the role of king. After spending years as a spoiled and somewhat morally questionable prince, Aegon was told by his mother, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), that his father proclaimed him as heir to her on his deathbed. Bolstered by the support of the small folk, he now believes himself the rightful king of Westeros. He has the support of the rest of the Greens, which include his mother, his grandfather, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), his sister/wife Helaena (Phia Saban), his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), and the commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel.) We spoke with Tom Glynn-Carney about Aegon's new position as king and the challenges that come with playing such a complicated character. Aegon isn't known to be the best of men, but Glynn-Carney also asserts that he is not completely irredeemable. We talked about his relationship with his grandfather and mother and their manipulation of him, as well as his role as a father to his young children. Finally, Glynn-Carney teased a scene in Season 2, Episode 2 that promises to be one of his most challenging scenes.