Ewan Mitchell's influences for Aemond Targaryen might not be what you think

It is an intense time for all Targaryens on the sprawling television epic known as House of the Dragon. Season 2, Episode 4 saw the long-awaited battle of Rook's Rest and dealt a lethal blow to Rhaenyra's allies with the loss of "the queen that never was." The closing moments of the episode found that King Aegon was alive, but so badly burned that he is described as alive "for the moment" in the next installment. Into this fray steps Aemond, who agrees a little too eagerly to act as prince regent while his king is on the long road to recovery.

Ewan Mitchell is the 27-year-old actor bringing Aemond Targaryen to life. He has so far balanced moments of needy vulnerability with emotional detachment from the tragedies that he causes. A striking moment for the character is when Ser Criston Cole tremulously asks the whereabouts of his fallen king and Aemond uses the king's own dagger to indifferently point the knight in the right direction.

Mitchell spoke with Vanity Fair on the Still Watching podcast this week and his list of inspirations is revealing. When asked about how evil the prince is, he had this to say:

"On a scale of 1 to 10? He’s up there. I would say he’s probably a nine to the eyes of a lot of people. But in his eye, he’s a one. He doesn’t think anything he does is bad. It’s all justified...Aemond never really felt unconditional love growing up. He was the spare son, although he felt like he should have been treated as the first...The thing is, if a child isn’t embraced by the village, they’ll burn it down to feel its warmth. And so Aemond, with this newfound power that he has with Vhagar, he will now seek validation and, ultimately, attention through other means--through war."

- Ewan Mitchell

The character requires both resiliency and cunning self-interest, which is where his commentary turns to less Westerosi influences on his depiction:

"He has had to harden himself into this weapon and manufacture himself into something lethal so he’s never seen as weak again. It’s a bit like Michael Mann’s Heat. There’s a quote in it that Robert DeNiro says: ‘Never get attached to someone you’re not prepared to walk out on in 30 seconds flat when you feel the heat around the corner.’ That’s the code that his character lives by. Aemond has a similar kind of code that helps him."

- Ewan Mitchell

This is not the only underworld character he emulates. Recalling an acting technique from James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano role, he mentions that Gandolfini "used to put a little stone in his shoe in the scenes where he wanted to feel the tension and feel the building volcano under the surface." He used a coin to replace the stone in this comparison and it informed Mitchell's awareness of how a near-miss with death "lives rent-free in Aemond's head."

In the most recent episode as of this publication, he torments his ailing king in an act of assertion and it is a powerful moment of tension:

"I think in that scene...Aemond is kind of telling [the king] in that moment: I’m taking over now. What you saw, you didn’t see at all. Just let me do my job. I can’t remember if it was the director who gave me the direction. But I very much wanted to put across this idea that Aegon was this fly caught in a spider’s web, and you’ve got this leering Aemond, who is the spider."

- Ewan Mitchell

His approach to both this secrecy and his mother's awareness of his intentions is reminiscent of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Accused of crimes he absolutely committed and challenged on the justification for those actions, the new Don Corleone vehemently tells the woman he loves "Never ask me about my business." Aemond's almost predatory dynamic with those around him seems to demand the same thing.

House of the Dragon releases new episodes weekly on MAX and we are sure to see more intriguing storylines from Mitchell's role in the tales to come.