The 2nd season of House of the Dragon is currently underway and, typical of the world of Westeros, the war is not only fought on the battlefield. One of the most fearsome characters is Aemond Targaryen. This is not surprising at all when you know his inspiration.
Aemond Targaryen is primarily recognized by his eye patch and his menacing presence. He is played by Ewan Mitchell in the series. Last year, he could also be seen in the Amazon hit Saltburn.
In an interview with Games Radar, the actor spoke about his inspirations and that he has not watched a single episode of Game of Thrones yet. He did this deliberately so that it wouldn’t influence his role. Instead, he has four other sources of inspiration.
Aemond is also a gifted fighter, as can be seen in this list: House of the Dragon: The 10 best swordsmen of Westeros in the power ranking
You can see a trailer here:
This idea of inevitability
In the interview, the actor explains his sources of inspiration for the character. His main focus was to portray a figure that exists beyond the world
and for this, he had four sources of inspiration. He mentions David from Prometheus, played by Michael Fassbender, and Kirk Douglas from the 1958 film The Vikings. Here you can also see the inspiration for the eye patch. Additionally, Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia from 1962 was an important source of inspiration.
His last inspiration might sound quite inappropriate at first, namely Michael Myers from the Halloween series. However, it’s less about the character and more about the presence and idea behind the character, as Mitchell explains in the interview.
The notion that Michael Myers, no matter how slowly he walks, always catches up with Jamie Lee Curtis: this idea of inevitability […] And it’s almost as if the image they convey is larger than life. It’s like another energy, and I thought it was something very fascinating to explore.
Ewan Mitchell and how Michael Myers inspired him (Source: Games Radar)
Michael Myers as a silent horror villain is primarily eerie because of his presence. His almost robotic movements and the thought that he could be anywhere are the aspects that make him scary.
Despite the initially bizarre choice, Michael Myers also fits into his argument for his sources of inspiration. As the name of the series suggests, it’s not just about people, but also about dragons. You can find the strongest dragons of the series here: House of the Dragon: The 10 most powerful dragons in the power ranking
