Not everyone who tunes into A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will know all about George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg and why they’re so beloved among the fandom. Some will have never read a single word in his sprawling A Song of Ice and Fire series. They will only know Westeros from HBO’s adaptations. But those who have read his books, histories, and novellas know that his characters, even those separated by millennia, often have a lot in common. So when Nerdist got the chance to participate in a series of roundtable discussions ahead of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ premiere, we wanted to know which figures from either Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon the new cast thinks their characters are most like.
From iconic duos and noble heroes, to beloved squires and infamous lords, their doppelgangers are some of the best in the Realm’s history.
Note: Answers are lightly edited for clarity and to avoid spoilers.
Peter Claffey – Ser Duncan the Tall (a.k.a. Dunk)
Claffey: There’s a couple of obvious ones. There’s the Brienne of Tarth link, which could almost be a genetic thing, a lineage that people talk about. (Note: It is.) There’s a huge commonality there, of course. And I think Brienne has it even harder because she’s a woman and trying to be a knight in Westeros. As a woman it’s obviously ten times harder.
There’s also a resemblance, a commonality, with the Hound. Although it’s less of a camaraderie, and less of a nice duo, you see there’s a colder “Dunk and Egg” [element] to the Hound and Arya’s companionship towards the end of Game of Thrones. While Dunk threatens a clout in the ear to Egg, the Hound is very much willing to give Arya a clout in the ear all the time. But there is some sort of a resemblance to the two of and [Dunk and Egg].
I suppose there’s…it’s kind of hard to compare because obviously he’s the hero of such an incredible show, but [Dunk’s] golden moral compass and good heartedness and courage, you can see it in Joh Snow’s character. And it can get him into serious hot water too, of course.
Young Dexter Sol Ansell who plays Egg was unable to participate in the roundtable, but his knight answered for him.
When it comes to Egg, I feel like, without Dunk’s intervention, Egg would turn into a Viserys II-type character that was with Daenerys at the start. There is a goodness to Egg, but I feel like it’s fading without Dunk’s intervention.
If he didn’t have Dunk’s intervention in his life, you could see him turning into a same old Targaryen bad guy. We got a lot of great Targaryens, and we’ve got a lot of bad Targaryens, but there’s a hand-picked few that are quite nasty individuals for sure.
Daniel Ings – Ser Lyonel Baratheon “The Laughing Storm”
Ings: That’s interesting. I mean, I feel like my character is a Baratheon through and through. So there’s definitely traits of Robert. The drinking and the love of a good fight, essentially. And being, you’re probably Robert in a way, that sense of being someone who’s like a bit lost when he’s not at war. Unlike Robert, who is sort of encumbered by the throne, really, and encumbered by having power, Lyonel’s not really so encumbered by that. So he gets to go and find war where he can.
Sam Spruell – Prince Maekar Targaryen
Spruell: Like Daniel, I’d say I’m kind of Targaryen through and through. I have a ruthless streak. There is a kind of hunger for power, a kind of dysfunction at the heart of this ruling family. Where it slightly moves away is that you meet the Targaryens in a diminished state, where they’re in a place where they’re having to shore up power through more obvious diplomacy and not relying on their kind of dragon-given right to power. It’s a really interesting moment for this family.
Hi. Mikey Walsh Nerdist. Finn, I’m just going to let you know that I’m going to challenge you to not give the most obvious answer for this because I think out of everyone I’ve talked to today, it would be the easiest for you. So that’s going to be the challenge.
Tanzyn Crawford – Tanselle Too-Tall
Crawford: Oh, that’s a tough question. I feel like, if anything, when you watch Game of Thrones or you watch House of Dragon and you notice somebody in the background, some background actor and you can’t help but watch them, I feel like that’s Tanselle. I don’t think she’s particularly a front runner. She has personality traits of many characters, but I think what makes her special and different is that she’s very unassuming and she just happens to be in this story because Dunk just happens to be in this tournament, in this town in Ashford. So I don’t think she would consider herself anything remarkable. She just is. In any other show, she’d just sort of be in the background and that would be her life and that’s interesting enough.
Finn Bennett – Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen
We challenged Finn Bennett, who plays the show’s main villain, not to give the most obvious answer like Joffrey Baratheon or Ramsay Bolton, even though both certainly apply. His answer did not disappoint.
Bennett: You know what? I’m actually going to go with Tyrion Lannister. There’s this plotting element to Aerion. He’s given an opportunity to make a big fuss in our show once Dunk comes into his point-of-view. And something about him wants to go down in the history books, wants there to be a big fuss. And Tyrion’s good at plotting, he’s very clever. I also think Aerion’s very clever.
Shaun Thomas – Raymun Fossoway
Thomas: Off the top of my head, I must say Podric (Payne). Yeah. I’ll go with that. (This answer makes total sense considering earlier in the roundtable Thomas described Raymun as “lighthearted, happy-go-lucky,” someone who will “do the right thing, do what he feels in his heart.”)