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Clinton Liberty remembers exactly where he was the first time he watched House of the Dragon.
The actor’s eyes were glued to the screen as he saw Steve Toussaint appear as the formidable Corlys Velaryon, aka the Sea Snake, in the Game of Thrones spin-off series.
‘I’m from a really small village in Ireland called Laytown, in a county called Meath,’ he tells Metro.
‘I remember seeing Steve Toussaint on the screen, and having this really sharp thought of, “I can do that. I just need an opportunity. I just need a shot.” Asking the universe for a shot, and wondering how a kid from this small village in Laytown can go there. Then lo and behold, the opportunity came.’
The 28-year-old sent in his self-tape, which he filmed at home where he lived with his mum, and the rest is history. He was cast as Addam of Hull from season two, a character who boasts one of my favourite scenes in the entire epic franchise – when he’s chased by the dragon Sea Smoke, who chooses him as his rider.
As a massive fantasy nerd, the idea of being chosen by a dragon is one of those moments you imagine happening to you. (Yes, I know it’s not real, but a girl can dream, right?)
I tell Clinton as such when we chat over Zoom, and his face lights up when I explain why I was so drawn to Addam from the moment he was introduced in House of the Dragon. In a tale that centres predominantly on characters who are born into power and wealth, despite Addam being one of Corlys’ illegitimate sons, he wasn’t born into nobility – he came from humble beginnings, yet was able to rise to greatness to claim a dragon.
‘He kind of mirrors my life,’ Clinton says. ‘For Addam, being a normal person and then being transported into a greater height, it’s the exact same thing as me being from the village in Laytown, and then being on the biggest show in the world, which is also my favourite show and favourite franchise of all time. So, yeah, I hear you.’
My skin crawls with goosebumps when he recalls the feeling he had when seeing Steve on the show, knowing that he was meant to star alongside him one day.
It was such a pinch-me moment. I will never forget what that day felt like to me
‘Genuinely. I just saw him on screen, and I was like, “I feel like I could do this. I feel like I belong in this world.” I don’t know why I had the thought, but it just resonated with me,’ he explains.
The moment Sea Smoke chooses Clinton is from season two episode six, when Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) is on the hunt for more dragonriders to join Team Black. She decides to seek out commonfolk with traces of Targaryen ancestry, and she winds up with three new riders – Addam of Hull, Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew).
While Ulf and Hugh are chosen by their dragons after being taken by Rhaenyra to the dragonpit, Addam’s experience is more unorthodox, as he’s just going about his day when a dragon swoops in and starts pursuing him. He fears for his life before he realises that Sea Smoke is going to do him no harm.
‘Addam is kind-hearted and a good-natured person, and wants to do the best by everyone. I feel like Sea Smoke sensed that quality in Addam, and for me that meant so much, because I knew it was going to resonate with a lot of the fans,’ he says, as he remembers filming the scene on a beach in Wales, which reminded him of the beach he lived beside in Laytown.
‘There was a point in the day where I was like, “I’m literally living my dreams right now.” I wish I could [speak to] 16, 17-year-old Clinton watching Game of Thrones for the first time and tell him that, “Dude, one day you’re gonna be riding a dragon; you’re gonna be chosen by a dragon.” It was so surreal; it was such a pinch-me moment. I will never forget what that day felt like to me. Genuinely.’
Addam comes to a crossroads of: ‘“Do I betray my internal moral code?”
Going into season three, Addam is in an interesting position. He’s officially a dragonrider who’s joined Team Black against the Greens, but Rhaenyra refuses to legitimise him or his brother Alyn (Abubakar Salim), despite the request being made by their father, Corlys.
Corlys is furious. How dare Rhaenryra deny making Alyn and Addam legitimate, after everything he’s lost in the fight to get her on the Iron Throne? Plus, he knows that her own sons Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey are all illegitimate and yet carry the Targaryen name.
While Addam doesn’t have a strong open reaction in front of Rhaenyra to the slight, you can tell he’s disappointed. In fact, according to Clinton, he’s extremely ‘angry’.
‘He feels like he’s been let down, because the one thing he’s ever wanted his whole life, him and his brother Alyn, has been to be legitimised by either their father or by Rhaenyra, but obviously it holds more weight when it comes from the Queen of the kingdom, and she has an opportunity to do it, and it’s been denied and taken away from him,’ he states.
‘It’s kind of like someone looking you in the face and saying, “Your lifelong dream, I will not grant, and I’m not giving you any specific reasons why.” So, as much as Addam is loyal to Queen Rhaenyra, and as much as he does want to serve and belong to a family and be of great use, he can’t help but feel dejected and despondent.
‘I don’t think he’s ever been in a position where he’s had to go through that, so it’s quite tricky. If he’s learned anything from Alyn and Corlys, it’s that duty trumps how you feel about any situation, no matter what, so he sort of has to swallow his pride and follow, even though he strongly disagrees with the decision.’
I fangirled over Simon Russell Beale at the House of the Dragon read-through
So where does that leave Addam in season three? Where is his story going to lead him?
‘It leaves him in a place where he never thought he would be – not just with Team Black, but even with his family, because he’s starting to see the reality of the whole situation, and he’s seen sides of his family that he’s never seen before, which is very surprising to him,’ Clinton answers.
‘He’s coming to a crossroads of, “Do I betray my internal moral code and moral compass for the validation of those I love and care about, or do I stick to who I truly am at my core, and possibly betray those around me and those that I care about?” It’s a big dilemma for him.’
Addam has a seemingly unbreakable bond with his brother, Alyn. I couldn’t believe it when Clinton told me about the strange connection he had with his co-star Abu before they ever met. If Addam has the power to claim a dragon, it appears Clinton has the ability of manifestation.
‘We’re practically brothers in real life,’ he explains. ‘I’ll never forget the first day I told Abu how much of a fan of his I was, because he played a character in a game called Assassin’s Creed,’ Clinton recollects.
‘He voiced a protagonist and I played that game. I remember I was saying to my friends, “The character in this game, his job on this accent is so good.” Lo and behold, a couple years later, I’m sitting right beside him and he’s playing my brother, and I get to tell him to his face.’
And that’s not all – as a teenager in secondary school, Simon Russell Beale, who stars as Ser Simon Strong in House of the Dragon, was one of the reasons Clinton felt inspired to get into acting.
My character Addam mirrors my life
‘I was watching the National Theatre Live, and I remember I was in fifth year in Ireland, and we were watching it in our English class, we were studying Shakespeare, King Lear, and guess who was on the TV? It was Simon Russell Beale,’ he says, getting more animated as he tells the story.
‘There is this moment in the show where he plays King Lear, he flips the table over and he’s going crazy and he’s angry at everyone in the room, and I remember telling my English teacher David Hopkins, I was like, “That’s the kind of acting I want to do. What Simon Russell Beale is doing right there see where he flips the table, that’s cool. I want to do that.”
‘And then literally years later, the second read-through, who is beside me with Abu? Simon Russell Beale. Out of everyone, I fangirled the most over Simon Russell Beale. Next was Matt Smith, Doctor Who, obviously, but Simon was the first one, and I was just so in awe of him. I was like, “I literally remember watching you and being so inspired by you in my English classroom.” I’m just always subconsciously manifesting things.’
House of the Dragon fans will be glad to know that Addam is close with the actors who play Ulf and Hugh in real life. ‘We genuinely care about each other and love each other’s families,’ he shares. ‘I remember so many days, for two hours plus, we’d just be sitting outside our trailers and talking about our lives and our journey up until this point, and how grateful we were to be a part of something so big, and that gratitude we share.’
In the world of Game of Thrones, and in House of the Dragon, especially, it’s risky to get too attached. We know where this civil war ends, with devastation and the eventual loss of all the dragons. But for now, in my blissful ignorance, I’m just going to imagine that Addam and Sea Smoke get to live happily ever after.
House of the Dragon is available to watch on HBO Max, Sky and NOW, with new episodes released on Mondays.
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