Fabien Frankel, star of “House of the Dragon,” stated that his armor was so heavy that he had to be fed on set.
Frankel portrays Ser Criston Cole, a member of the Kingsguard in Westeros, in the hit HBO series.
Frankel stated in an interview on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” on Monday that he had trouble carrying his “heavy” armor during the initial weeks of production.
Frankel added, “It got lighter over time, but in the beginning, you had to wear a breastplate that protected your neck and chest, but you couldn’t remove it.” During the first two-and-a-half weeks of filming, I was required to sit like a zombie and be fed as if I were really ill.
In addition, Fallon questioned the actor about a photo of him sleeping in his armor on production. His co-star, Milly Alcock, took the photograph.
On the photo, he remarked, “I’m a truly unsightly sleeper.”
This is not the first time Frankel has mentioned his armor’s complexity for the show. Princess Rhaenyra (Alcock) begins to explore her sexuality and convinces Cole (Frankel) to take her virginity in episode four.
Fabien Frankel recognizes a member of the audience at the global premiere of “House of the Dragon.”
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic for HBO
Frankel stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly’s podcast “West of Westeros” that he had tried to demonstrate the difficulty of removing his armor in that sequence, which mirrored Cole’s emotional struggle as he violated his vow of chastity.
“I recall only telling them, “This armor cannot be removed without assistance.” Knights would employ squires, who would remove their armor “Frankel remembered. “Rhaenyra and Cole cannot possibly remove that armor in ten seconds. So I said, ‘Well, you have to include that’”
The actor continued: “How do we remove the buckle? How do we remove the boots? These are the things I cared most about, because they remove the outdated sexual sex scenes that have existed in television and film for so long, and make it feel real and authentic.”