House of the Dragon Actor Steve Toussaint Thought Character Was Dead

Corlys Velaryon faced a difficult time in House of the Dragon season 3. Steve Toussaint portrays the legendary Sea Snake, whose castle and fleet were destroyed in the Battle of the Gullet at the start of the season. He also lost several family members, and Queen Rhaenyra rejected his request to recognize his bastard sons as Velaryons while she mourned her own children.

Things worsened when enemies abducted Corlys and held him hostage. This placed him in a difficult position as the season reached its climax with the violent Battle of Tumbleton, though he managed to play a pivotal role before and after the fighting.

Polygon spoke with Toussaint after the season 3 finale to break down onscreen and behind-the-scenes events, and to tease what to expect from the fourth and final season of House of the Dragon.

What does Corlys really want in the House of the Dragon season 4 finale?

Prince Daeron Targaryen tried to avert a bloody battle at Tumbleton by freeing Corlys. With Daemon Targaryen leading the army, the negotiation failed, and Corlys attempted to broker a power-sharing deal between the two sides. This failed as well, raising questions about what Corlys believes regarding who should rule Westeros.

Toussaint explained his character’s motivation:

“He genuinely thinks that what he posits could be a way out of this. He realizes that where Gwayne is going, this idea of two monarchs, is a non-starter, which is why he steps in and basically says to Gwayne, ‘Shut up.’ But he sincerely thinks this might be the way to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”

“Corlys is tired of warfare. He has personally lost so much in this cause. I think he is genuine towards the end of that speech, where he says to Daemon, ‘You have to decide what you want, whether it’s Rhaenyra on the throne or a mountain of dead Hightowers.'”

“And the minute he says it, he kind of thinks, ‘Oh God, I actually know where this is going.’ And, of course, Daemon doesn’t disappoint him. He’s like, ‘What do you think?’ And there is a real genuine despair.”

“I don’t think it’s about giving the Hightowers anything. I don’t think he cares for them at all. For him, in an ideal world, they would still face some kind of justice for what they’ve done. But there’s no reason for so many innocents to die.”

How was the Battle of Tumbleton filmed?

Game of Thrones was famous for shooting on location, and House of the Dragon also films across Europe to create Westeros. For the Battle of Tumbleton, the crew relied on a mix of real locations and fabricated sets.

Toussaint said the battle was filmed just south of London in a huge valley filled with extras and built sets. The bulk of the exterior scenes, including his conversations with Daemon and Gwayne Hightower, were shot there, while interior scenes like his rescue from the battle were shot on a built set.

Is he worried about his character dying?

Nobody is safe in Westeros, not even Corlys Velaryon. Toussaint admitted to constantly worrying that his character will get killed off, especially after an incident in the first episode of season 3.

“At the end of episode 1 of this season, when Corlys tumbles into the sea, I’m like, ‘Oh God, here we go. Am I alive in episode 2?’ Because people just get chopped off nonstop,” Toussaint said.

While showrunner Ryan Condal has made notable changes from the source material, Toussaint refused to read the book to find out what happens.

“I made a conscious decision very early on that I wouldn’t read the book,” he said. “I didn’t want to fall in love with anything that he did in the book that then was deemed unnecessary in the script. My job is to try to bring to life the script, as opposed to the book. They’re two different things.”

Any House of the Dragon season 4 updates?

“Still waiting,” Toussaint said of the season 4 script. “The last time I spoke with Ryan, at the London premiere of this season, he said to me that they were just finishing the first draft of season four. And all he would do is give me that cheeky smile of his and say, ‘You know, it’s going to be pretty good.’ But in terms of actual details, no, I have no idea.”

House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max.

Source: Polygon