Before we have come to know House of the Dragon star Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, he was widely known as the Eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who after David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor running years. The actor opened up about how he felt more pressured to play his prior role as opposed to his most recent role, seeing as he was the Doctor at just the age of 26. Given the long-running years of the iconic British sci-fi series with expectations and legacies to keep and maintain, the actor’s worries were completely reasonable and yet at the same time, quite beneficial in keeping him grounded in his career.
When asked if his role as the Eleventh Doctor had prepared him in his Daemon Targaryen role in House of the Dragon in an interview with Los Angeles Times, Smith says:
“I suppose so. But the pressure that came with Doctor Who is extraordinary. On this, you’re sharing it with like 10 other actors. Doctor Who is Doctor Who, Hamlet is Hamlet, you know? I was 26 [when I was cast] and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel pressure like that again. In Britain, anyway, the focus on that job is enormous. [House of the Dragon] is a huge global franchise, or so they tell me, but I just go to work in a studio in Watford and try to get the lines in the right order. I think that everyone who leaves Doctor Who will forever miss Doctor Who, because it doesn’t get any better. He is the most glorious character. To live with the idea of being able to time travel is f— amazing. It’s limitless. It’s a tough part to leave.”
As a proven flexible actor, Smith was also able to deliver the charismatic yet villainous Daemon Targaryen, and when his character was described as a ‘full-on sociopath or a lovable rogue’, the actor completely agrees that those pretty much summed up his Daemon.
“Exactly as just described. It depends on what side of the bed he gets out on. I think he’s just an agent of chaos in many respects. One of my favorite books is The Master and Margarita. It’s magical realism—I like that. This character Woland comes back to, essentially, cause chaos. And it reminds me a bit of that. I was trying not to be too black and white about him.”
So much so, that the actor has captured the hearts of many fans loving Daemon Targaryen, enough to even claim him as their ‘Internet Boyfriend.’
Doctor Who returns in 2023. Meanwhile, House of the Dragon season 2 has been confirmed, unfortunately with no official announcement for its release date yet. Stay tuned on Epicstream for this story.
Also Read: Doctor Who: David Tennant Breaks Silence on Being The 14th Doctor
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