Four more actors are set to explore the world of Westeros. According to Deadline, HBO announced the addition of four new cast members to the cast of season two of the popular show House of the Dragon. The actors joining the series are Simon Russell Beale (Operation Mincemeat, The Outfit), Freddie Fox (Slow Horses, Coffee Wars), Gayle Rankin (Perry Mason, Kindred), and Abubakar Salim (Raised by Wolves, Jamestown).
Character names and details have also been revealed via Deadline for the four cast members. Beale will star as Ser Simon Strong, the great-uncle of Larys and Harwin Strong, and the Castellan of Harrenhal; Fox will play Ser Gwayne Hightower, the brother of Queen Aliencet, son of Otto Hightower, and uncle to King Aegon; Rankin will be playing Alys Rivers, a healer, and resident of Harrenhal; Salim will be starring as Alyn of Hull, a sailor in the Velaryon fleet who was there during the Stepstones campaign.
The returning cast members for season two include Emma D’Arcy (Mothering Sunday, Truth Seekers) as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen; Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel, Ready Player One) as Queen Alicent Hightower; Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown) as Daemon Targaryen; Eve Best (Fate: The Winx Saga, Lucky Man) as Rhaenys Targaryen; Steve Toussaint (Before We Die, Rain Dogs) as Lord Corlys Velaryon; Fabien Franker (Venice at Dawn, The Serpent) as Ser Criston Cole; Ewan Mitchell (The Last Kingdom, Trigger Point) as Prince Aemond Targaryen; Tom Glynn-Carney (The King, Tolkien) as King Aegon II Targaryen; Sonoya Mizuno (Crazy Rich Asians, Shortcomings) as Mysaria; Rhys Ifans (Elementary, The Amazing Spider-Man) as Ser Otto Hightower; Harry Collett (Casualty, Dolittle) as Prince Jacaerys ‘Jace’ Velaryon; Bethany Antonia (Nolly, Stay Close) as Lady Baela Targaryen; Phoebe Campbell (Midsomer Murders, Home from Home) as Lady Rhaena Targaryen; Phia Saban (The Last Kingdom) as Princess Helaena Targaryen; Jefferson Hall (Chemistry of Death, Devs) as Ser Tyland Lannister, and Matthew Needham (Great Expectations, Sanditon) as Lord Larys Strong.
The show is based on Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin (Dying of the Light, Dead Man’s Hand) and retells the story of House Targaryen from the arrival of the house to Westeros to the Dance of the Dragons to the Mad King.
House of the Dragon follows a period of House Targaryen, 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, in which there was a conflict between the members of the family. The show’s first season set the events in motion and introduced the characters. In the first season, we see how King Viserys is desperate for a male heir, but after the death of his wife Aemma in childbirth, the king decides to name his daughter Rhaenyra as the heir to the Iron Throne. His decision doesn’t sit all too well with his hand Otto Hightower who is suggesting the king remarries and has male heirs. The king marries Alicent Hightower, and a year after she gives birth to a son. The rest of the season follows the animosity developing between Rhaenyra and Alicent as their children get older and King Viserys gets sicker.
Production for season two started recently but no release date has been announced by HBO. Season one of House of the Dragon is available to stream on HBO and HBO Max.