Fans of the original series will be most familiar with Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke), who fought hard and fast for the Iron Throne she believed was hers \u2013 and she had a good right to think that, as her family line was quite successful in the Seven Kingdoms, something that will be explored in House of the Dragon.<\/p>\n
One character who\u2019s set to be at the heart of the action this time around is King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), not to be confused with the other Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd), who came to a fairly nasty end in Game of Thrones\u2019 first season when he finally got that golden crown he was after\u2026 ouch.<\/p>\n
Need to get up to speed on Viserys? Read on to find out who the character is, his family line, and all you need to know to enjoy House of the Dragon.<\/p>
Who is King Viserys I Targaryen in House of the Dragon?<\/strong><\/h2>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Paddy Considine as King Viserys in Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.<\/span><\/figcaption> HBO\/Sky<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nAs the grand title above suggests, Viserys is the fifth king to come from the Targaryen family and is the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms when we meet him in House of the Dragon. HBO describes him as: \u201cA warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather\u2019s legacy, but as we\u2019ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King (and his grandfather), Jaehaerys Targaryen \u2013\u00a0Viserys\u2019s father died before he could ever claim the Iron Throne. Jaehaerys was the grandson of Aegon the Conqueror, the man who forged the Iron Throne when he united Westeros, so Viserys is certainly from noble blood.<\/p>\n
While Viserys tries to continue his grandfather\u2019s hugely successful \u2013 and quite peaceful \u2013\u00a0reign of 50 years, all is not well in his family, as he wasn\u2019t really<\/em> supposed to be the rightful heir to the Throne.<\/p>\nThough Jaehaerys\u2019s children were all deceased, his first-born son, Aemon Targaryen, had a daughter, Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), who would technically have had more of a right to the Throne should the proper lineage have played out. She was passed over by the lords for being a woman (though it was disguised as a popularity vote to stop her son Laenor Velaryon, who isn\u2019t solely Targaryen blood, becoming king), and became known as \u2018The Queen Who Never Was\u2019. And it\u2019s safe to say House Velaryon isn\u2019t happy to be overlooked.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, Viserys and his wife, Aemma Arryn, failed to produce a male heir, only conceiving daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D\u2019Arcy). Considering the questionable means leading to Viserys\u2019s succession, he is insistent the Throne should be passed to a male, which would mean the King\u2019s next male relative.<\/p>\n
Enter Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), a hot-headed and possibly mad Targaryen who even Viserys can\u2019t stomach on the Throne \u2013\u00a0but he is certain he deserves it.<\/p>\n
On top of that, Viserys faces challenges from House Hightower, a powerful family tied to his Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who all have strong ties to the Faith of the Seven.<\/p>\n
So, with various members of the Targaryen family and a fair few outsiders, too, all vying for the Iron Throne, where will it fall once Viserys is succeeded?<\/p>\n
Who is Paddy Considine?<\/strong><\/h2>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Paddy Considine at the House Of The Dragon premiere in London.<\/span><\/figcaption> Lia Toby\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nPaddy Considine (48) takes on the role of King Viserys in House of the Dragon.<\/p>\n
Those familiar with Shane Meadows will know Considine often collaborates with him, but he\u2019s also known for Peaky Blinders, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and The Outsider.<\/p>\n
In 2008, he won the BAFTA for Best Short Film for his project, Dog Altogether.<\/p>\n
Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n- How to watch House of the Dragon \u2013 where can you stream?<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Matt Smith says \u201cdaunting\u201d Doctor Who prepared him for House of the Dragon<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
- House of the Dragon planned to last three or four seasons<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
- House of the Dragon review: Game of Thrones prequel soars<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Meet the cast of House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones prequel series<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
\u00a0<\/p>\n
House of the Dragon premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW<\/a> on Monday 22nd August 2022. Check out more of our Fantasy<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/b><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Helen Daly Published: Monday, 22 August 2022 at 12:00 am The fantastical world of Game of Thrones is once more coming back to screens, this time in the form of House of the Dragon, a spin-off dedicated entirely to the fiery, dragon-riding Targaryen family. Fans of the original series will be most familiar with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20595,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained.jpg",1920,1280,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained.jpg",1920,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Helen Daly Published: Monday, 22 August 2022 at 12:00 am The fantastical world of Game of Thrones is once more coming back to screens, this time in the form of House of the Dragon, a spin-off dedicated entirely to the fiery, dragon-riding Targaryen family. Fans of the original series will be most familiar with…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/FL_01_HouseoftheDragon_S01-2-8286801.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>As the grand title above suggests, Viserys is the fifth king to come from the Targaryen family and is the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms when we meet him in House of the Dragon. HBO describes him as: \u201cA warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather\u2019s legacy, but as we\u2019ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King (and his grandfather), Jaehaerys Targaryen \u2013\u00a0Viserys\u2019s father died before he could ever claim the Iron Throne. Jaehaerys was the grandson of Aegon the Conqueror, the man who forged the Iron Throne when he united Westeros, so Viserys is certainly from noble blood.<\/p>\n
While Viserys tries to continue his grandfather\u2019s hugely successful \u2013 and quite peaceful \u2013\u00a0reign of 50 years, all is not well in his family, as he wasn\u2019t really<\/em> supposed to be the rightful heir to the Throne.<\/p>\n Though Jaehaerys\u2019s children were all deceased, his first-born son, Aemon Targaryen, had a daughter, Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), who would technically have had more of a right to the Throne should the proper lineage have played out. She was passed over by the lords for being a woman (though it was disguised as a popularity vote to stop her son Laenor Velaryon, who isn\u2019t solely Targaryen blood, becoming king), and became known as \u2018The Queen Who Never Was\u2019. And it\u2019s safe to say House Velaryon isn\u2019t happy to be overlooked.<\/p>\n To make matters worse, Viserys and his wife, Aemma Arryn, failed to produce a male heir, only conceiving daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D\u2019Arcy). Considering the questionable means leading to Viserys\u2019s succession, he is insistent the Throne should be passed to a male, which would mean the King\u2019s next male relative.<\/p>\n Enter Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), a hot-headed and possibly mad Targaryen who even Viserys can\u2019t stomach on the Throne \u2013\u00a0but he is certain he deserves it.<\/p>\n On top of that, Viserys faces challenges from House Hightower, a powerful family tied to his Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who all have strong ties to the Faith of the Seven.<\/p>\n So, with various members of the Targaryen family and a fair few outsiders, too, all vying for the Iron Throne, where will it fall once Viserys is succeeded?<\/p>\n Paddy Considine (48) takes on the role of King Viserys in House of the Dragon.<\/p>\n Those familiar with Shane Meadows will know Considine often collaborates with him, but he\u2019s also known for Peaky Blinders, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and The Outsider.<\/p>\n In 2008, he won the BAFTA for Best Short Film for his project, Dog Altogether.<\/p>\n Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n House of the Dragon premieres on Sky Atlantic and NOW<\/a> on Monday 22nd August 2022. Check out more of our Fantasy<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/b><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Helen Daly Published: Monday, 22 August 2022 at 12:00 am The fantastical world of Game of Thrones is once more coming back to screens, this time in the form of House of the Dragon, a spin-off dedicated entirely to the fiery, dragon-riding Targaryen family. Fans of the original series will be most familiar with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20595,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained.jpg",1920,1280,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/who-is-king-viserys-targaryen-paddy-considine-role-explained.jpg",1920,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Helen Daly Published: Monday, 22 August 2022 at 12:00 am The fantastical world of Game of Thrones is once more coming back to screens, this time in the form of House of the Dragon, a spin-off dedicated entirely to the fiery, dragon-riding Targaryen family. Fans of the original series will be most familiar with…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Who is Paddy Considine?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1415050265-a43912a.jpg?quality=90&crop=31px%2C0px%2C5697px%2C3795px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"