When Jamie Kenna bought off the telephone together with his agent following an audition for season two of Home of the Dragon, he was devastated. He hadn’t booked the function.
Ser Alfred Broome, who serves as a knight on Queen Rhaenyra’s black council – and, because the British actor describes, is a “Targaryen by employment” – had escaped him. “I used to be completely gutted as a result of I actually, desperately wished it. I believed the audition had gone effectively,” Kenna tells The Hollywood Reporter.
However three weeks later, casting administrators for HBO‘s hit Recreation of Thrones prequel modified their minds. Every week after that, Kenna was in costume and on set, surrounded by fellow castmembers Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith and Eve Greatest. Having initially misplaced out, he got here to grasp that this was the function of a lifetime.
“I knew it was the largest, it was the subsequent stage that I’d all the time wished,” he says. “That is the job I’d been ready for. Whereas I used to be so elated once I did get it, I didn’t notice, even then, the size of [House of the Dragon]. There’s home banners on among the world’s most iconic buildings, dragons on the Empire State Constructing. They didn’t do this for Coronation Road.”
Till now, Kenna’s résumé has been a combination of British soaps, corresponding to Coronation Road, Casualty and Silent Witness, with a number of larger initiatives like The Crown and His Darkish Supplies. However Dragonstone is a world away from what he’s used to.
A glimpse of what’s to come back from Kenna’s character was supplied up in episode two, which aired Sunday night time. Ser Alfred obtained a swift telling off from Rhaenys (Greatest) when he implied Rhaenyra had been liable for the slaughter of a younger boy (who, for Group Inexperienced, was additionally inheritor to the Iron Throne). It’s a well-established truth Recreation of Thrones and Home of the Dragon followers are accustomed to ugly tales of bloodshed and homicide, however Kenna was integral in retaining issues gentle whereas filming.
“You’re doing dour, bleak scenes the place there’s been the decapitation of a kid and you then yell ‘Minimize!’ and there’s a lot enjoyable and video games and messing round,” he says. “There was lots of laughter, lots of banter, which is far wanted whenever you’re shedding kilos by the hour in that leather-based armor.” At this second, his publicist interjects to make clear it was Kenna offering the set with these enjoyable moments, in accordance with lead star D’Arcy.
Jamie Kenna
Courtesy of Jemima Marriott
Regardless of the large names round and the monstrous set earlier than him, Kenna wasn’t intimidated. “My first day, I walked on set, and I’m with Matt Smith on the set of Harrenhal – which is mind-boggling, how they construct these units out of wooden – and he couldn’t have been friendlier. He couldn’t have been extra welcoming. Matt Smith is a really, very beneficiant actor. So the entire expertise exceeded expectations… The ambiance is so pleasant,” he provides. “Everybody’s simply so glad to be there. It looks like a small job, which is beautiful.”
Conflict is brewing in Westeros, and with each episode, the violence is escalating. Kenna can’t reveal an excessive amount of however guarantees “pleasure, controversy, warfare and naughtiness – nevertheless you interpret that — ” is coming. Ser Alfred will get a narrative of his personal this season. “[Episode two] was a very nice introduction to his method, to how he feels,” Kenna says. “As a result of I believe even in that tiny little bit, they did a really good second the place they targeted on the guards watching me and Rhaenys will get me in line. For those who watch it once more, it units it as much as present that this man’s not afraid to say one thing. And that’s very a lot the place the journey goes, with the climax of that within the final episode. No spoilers, however he tries to take issues into his personal fingers just a little bit.”
“It’s all a multitude,” Kenna says of the looming civil warfare. “Persons are making an attempt to know management. So [Ser Alfred] very a lot desires to go in and stamp. He thinks we must be going all weapons blazing, sending out messages. He’s a basic, so he’s not rash. He desires to construct a military, and he desires to do issues the correct means, in a practical means.”
The possibility to battle for the Targaryens is a dream come true for Kenna, who grew up in a working-class household with an ambition to behave. He has cherished this expertise a lot that the Home Broome crest is now tattooed on the actor’s leg. “I really like being on set. I really like actors, I really like being round individuals. I’m fortunate to have executed among the most superb jobs. And I’m riddled with imposter syndrome each time,” he confesses. “[House of the Dragon] was positively up there, I’m going, ‘What am I doing right here? How did I get right here?’ And so I’m very constructive, I’m very jolly, and I’ll crack a lot of jokes.”
However crucially, everybody on this set went together with Kenna’s quips and high-spirited nature. “It’s the very best job I’ve ever had.”
