Harry Collett he started his career by playing a small role in “Dunkirk” Christopher Nolan. Later, viewers could see him alongside Robert Downey Jr. in the 2020 film retelling of the adventures of Doctor Dolittle. He also starred in “Death Guaranteed”. He gained the greatest fame thanks to the series “The Dragon’s Kin”In which so far he played the character of Jacaerys Velaryon in six episodes.
Bethany Antonia is known for such British productions as “Retaliation”, “Needle case” and the film adaptation of Harlan Coben’s novel “Stay with me”. IN “The Dragon’s Birth” plays the role of Baela Targaryen.
During a conversation with journalists ahead of the premiere of the second season, the actors revealed some details about the latest episodes, the inspirations for their characters, working on the set and what drives their characters.
How would Bethany and Harry describe the arc and journey of their characters in the new chapter? “Dragon bloodline?”
Bethany Antonia: “In the situation they find themselves in, they haven’t really had time to mature. They don’t know who they really are, they can’t ‘get a grip’ on themselves emotionally, and all this happens during the war. These are very extreme circumstances for growing up, so the characters often make irrational decisions quite impulsively. They are also not yet the characters they will be in 10 years and how these events will affect their future. So they will find themselves in several difficult situations.”.
Harry Collett: “When it comes to Jace, there are two things that drive him this season – determination and a thirst for revenge. It’s not just about the Iron Throne, because he lost his younger brother after all. In a way, he also wants to prove that everyone was wrong about him and wants to achieve his goal. If he doesn’t achieve it, he won’t be fulfilled – in order to cope with his grief, he feels that he needs to take it out on someone”.
How did Bethany build Baela’s character in the new episodes?
Bethany: “In the show, I wanted to show how much the fact that she was raised by several important women in her life and that her childhood was very difficult – she was influenced by many people from different parts of Westeros during her formative years. So she wondered how that might have changed her as a girl; how it affected who she became. I tried to take the best aspects of those characters, like Rhaenyra, and incorporate them into my character – the way Rhaenyra dresses, the way she talks. This season, I’m trying to find nuance in her, and I think Baela’s behavior is very much dependent on the environment she’s in.”.
As the media notice, the casting in “The Dragon’s Birth” is more diverse than in “Game of Thrones”. What does playing Baela mean to Bethany Antoni, who plays her?
Bethany: “It’s true, playing this character is a huge privilege and I’m glad that I can be in this universe. For young viewers, the opportunity to see themselves on screen in such a big production is extremely important. When I was younger, I didn’t see heroes like me in fantasy productions, so even more so “The Dragon’s Kin” is special to me. But I don’t feel the burden of responsibility. That falls on the writers and directors, whose job it is to create such interesting characters for actors of color”.
Working on such a huge production as “The Dragon’s Kin” comes with many challenges. What did the actors learn on set?
Bethany: “As an actress, a lot has changed for me during my time on the show. With the help of Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith, for example, I’ve learned a lot. They’ve both supported me and given me advice. They’re great.”.
Harry: “We both starred in a lot of TV productions, where the pace of work is really fast – here you shoot 10 pages of a script in one day, and sometimes you spend four or five days on one scene. The attention to detail is incredible. Thanks to that I learned a lot about taking shots, about how to set up the camera. It’s valuable experience that you can gain on the set.”.
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