WESTEROS BECKONS US ONCE MORE WITH ANOTHER GAME OF THRONES PREQUEL, A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS. THE LATEST SPIN-OFF TELLS THE STORY OF VALOUR AND FRIENDSHIP, A CHARACTER-DRIVEN DRAMA INFUSED WITH TONGUE-IN-CHEEK HUMOUR. HAVING PLAYED MAX HASTINGS IN A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER, AND LORD STAN DUDLEY IN MY LADY JANE, NOW RISING BRITISH TALENT HENRY ASHTON UPS HIS NOBILITY STATUS, JOINING THE FANTASY FRANCHISE AS PRINCE DAERON TARGARYEN, NICKNAMED DAERON “THE DRUNKEN", KNOWN FOR HIS LOVE OF THE BOTTLE. WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE ACTOR TO DISCUSS OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES, THE PITFALLS OF STUNT TRAINING AND DREAMING BIG.
Left Full look Prada
Right Full look Emporio Armani
What ignited your passion for acting? I read that you used to watch a lot of movies with your dad growing up.
Yes, his side of the family has always been in film, but on the other side of the camera. My grandfather was a product designer and art director, and he built the actual bridge in the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai. My dad was an editor, director and producer, but he's not been in the industry for about 20 years now. We always watched films growing up, but I think my love for acting began when I played Mr Fox in a local production of The Fantastic Mr. Fox when I was younger, and I was also in school plays. I lost the momentum for it a little after that but then fell in love with it again when I was 28, and I thought, “Let's give this a go, or I might regret not doing it for the rest of my life.”
And here you are, stepping into the shoes of a prince, in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. How did it feel when you learned you would be entering the realm of Westeros? It can be scary to play a character in this world and meet the fan expectations.
It is, and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a certain responsibility or pressure with this role. I almost fell on the floor when I found out from my agent that I had got the part and started loudly swearing!
Left Jacket and pants Loewe, jewellery Cartier
Right Jacket and denim Blue Blue, t-shirt Hollywood Ranch Market
Where were you at this point, hopefully not in a cafe somewhere?
[Laughs] Can you imagine!! I was at home alone, and it was a real out-of-body experience. It’s the responsibility of stepping into a show that's so well loved by so many people, and particularly the Dunk and Egg adventures, which are both real favourites to so many. I felt very trusted, though, by the showrunner and creator, Ira [Parker] and George [R. R. Martin] (who wrote the novellas).
Had you seen Game of Thrones or read any of the Dunk and Egg books, which this prequel series is based on? I feel like it’s part of our culture to know everything about Game of Thrones and the prequels! So, were you familiar with the story?
Honestly, no, not with Dunk and Egg, but once I got the role, I went and read the books, and the series is so faithful to them.
Left Jacket and denim Blue Blue, t-shirt Hollywood Ranch Market
Right Shirt and kilt McQueen, shoes Jimmy Choo, jewellery Cartier
You’re playing Prince Daeron Targaryen, who disliked horses and swords. Were you a little disappointed at not being able to go gung-ho on the horses through a wood whilst waving a sword around? That's really the fun part of these fantasy medieval roles.
I actually had to do a lot of horse-riding, almost 15 hour-long lessons, everyone was involved in that, so I'm grateful that I can now ride a horse, as I love them, especially their noses, they're very soft! But I've got quite a skinny backside, and it hurts after a while of being in that saddle! [Laughs] Daeron is pretty useless at sword fighting, and it's a shame I didn't get to do any of that, as the stunt training is the part I love the most, but I was on the sidelines for it all.
Is there an anchor for when you're prepping mentally for a role? Or something you recently discovered you always go back to doing?
I always get a notebook for each character, and I usually find that the anchor is different for every project; for A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, I listened to a lot of music. For A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, I watched the movie, Withnail and I, which helped me in finding the chaotic, charming, funny and dishevelled energy of Daeron.
Full look Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
It's a more character-driven series this time, and your character was nicknamed "Daeron the Drunken," as he drank to drown out his prophetic visions. How did you deep dive into his character and his alcoholism? It's a hard-hitting issue and often deeply psychological.
I did quite a bit of research into the relationship between alcohol and dreams. Alcohol suppresses REM sleep, which you need to dream, as that's the time when your brain filters all the toxins and your body recovers. Just because you stop it from happening, it doesn't go away, as your brain stores up the need for dreams. So, I loved taking the scientific reality of that into this character and what it means for someone to drink so much to suppress these dreams, and that fear and fascination to not be able to stop drinking, because if you do, you'll see something truly terrifying. There are lots of layers to Daeron, but he drinks for necessity.
Has playing him and being in the world of Westeros affected your own dreams at all?
I'm a big dreamer. I have quite strange dreams, and I sleepwalk and talk too! Weirdly, I've lucid-dreamed my whole childhood, and I dreamed in the third person too. My dreams would bleed into being awake, which can still happen... and then, I'm actually just in my bedroom being weird.... which my girlfriend really appreciates. [Laughs]
How about dreaming yourself onto the Oscars stage five years from now, accepting your accolade for best actor?
I think I would have to dream extremely big for that to happen!
Shirt, shorts, cardigan and socks N°21, jewellery Cartier
Okay, back to the present. The show leans into comedy quite a bit – how does that fit within your character's journey? Do you play a good drunk? Some actors are great at it, and others not so much.
There is humour running throughout this series, and Peter and Dan and everyone are brilliant at playing that, but I didn't really want to push that with Daeron, because the more you push it, the less funny it is. I wanted it to be part of his defence mechanism, a mask to hide behind.
So, how would you describe Daeron's arc through the season?
Daeron is a great bridge between the Targaryens and Dunk and Egg, because he’s been hardened, or softened by the brutality and being part of that family. He’s not a good man in the way he behaves, but he is in his heart. So, it’s that struggle between self-preservation and doing the right thing, his love for his brother and for himself, or hatred of himself being a Targaryen. He’s so self-destructive and almost wants to burn down everything around him. The tragic thing about him is that you see this untapped potential beneath the exterior, with his incredibly powerful gift of prophetic dreams and being able to see the future. If he were able to harness that, it would be one of the most powerful things ever, and he's the firstborn son, too. His potential is huge, but he can't handle it. It's a sad story because, like addiction, he's just surrendering himself to it.
Left Full look Prada
Right Full look Celine Homme
What if you could see into the future, for your own career journey, where would you like to be?
The only thing I want is to continue acting in as many different things as I can. Variety keeps me motivated. I would love to be in a big ensemble TV series like Band of Brothers, it's that being part of a team which I love. Or in an A24 film, anything that Alex Garland is directing. Also, I've always wanted to play Kurt Cobain in a biopic, but maybe I'm a little too old for it now!
Stop a minute, how old are you, 30?
Slightly older than he was when he had mainstream fame.
Oh well, you're way too old! You'll need AI, it can do wonders these days.
I'll need A LOT of AI!
Left Top and pants Giorgio Armani, shoes Jimmy Choo
Right Jacket Loewe, jewellery Cartier
Interview by Kate Lawson
Photography by Dean Ryan McDaid
Fashion by Steven Huang
Casting by Imagemachine cs
Grooming by Sandra Hahnel at Caren using Shu Uemura
Photographer’s assistant Martin Buckley
Stylist’s assistant Francesca Ward
