Ewan Mitchell has a confession to make about playing Aemond Targaryen. The 27-year-old actor, who became a fan favorite after taking over the role of the one-eyed prince following the time jump in House of the Dragon, knows that audiences never quite know what their character will do next. In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, Mitchell revealed the simple but effective trick he uses to keep Aemond unpredictable and spontaneous on screen, even though the show is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, a book that has existed for years.
The HBO series returns for its third season on Sunday, June 21, at 9:00 p.m. ET, and Mitchell promises it is “all-out war” and “just a blitz straight out of the gate.” As the Dance of the Dragons reaches its bloody peak, Aemond is positioned to become one of the deadliest forces in Westeros.
The Secret: No Over-Prepping, Just Spontaneous Energy
When asked how he keeps a character from a pre-existing source material feeling fresh and unpredictable, Mitchell said the key is not overthinking it. He avoids memorizing his lines too rigidly or planning every single reaction ahead of time.
“I do that by not over-prepping the dialogue or the scenes, but really by just coming in with the same kind of spontaneous energy,” Mitchell explained to Hindustan Times.
He says he puts his faith in the moment. “I think by just having faith on the day and really being open to things as they come your way. You might have an idea, but there also might be an idea that someone else has with what you do in a scene that really just inspires you.”
This willingness to be surprised by his co-stars and the environment on set helps Mitchell keep Aemond from becoming a predictable villain. Even though the broad strokes of Aemond’s fate are written in Martin’s history book, the micro-expressions and specific choices in each scene remain alive and dangerous.
Breaking the ‘Terminator’ Mold
While fans have come to see Aemond as a terrifying, almost unstoppable force—often compared to horror icons like Michael Myers from Halloween—Mitchell is actively working to change that perception in Season 3. He admitted that in the past, he leaned into the “unstoppable killer” vibe, but now he wants to show the man behind the eye patch.
“In season 3, I was really looking forward to pulling back that veneer, taking him out of that Terminator-esque horror-icon movie and making him more human,” Mitchell told FirstCuriosity.
He believes the true horror of House of the Dragon comes from the people, not the dragons. “I feel like it is a horror TV show, but the monsters are the human beings in it. It’s not so much the dragons.”
Mitchell also hinted that a major turning point for Aemond came when he turned Vhagar‘s fire on his own brother, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), during the Battle of Rook’s Rest. That moment changed him completely, pushing him further into darkness and setting up a major power struggle in King’s Landing. With Aegon fleeing the capital, Aemond now has his eye firmly on the Iron Throne for himself.
The ‘Taxi Driver’ Comparison
To describe where Aemond’s head is at in Season 3, Mitchell reached for a classic film reference. He compared the prince’s psychological state to Travis Bickle, Robert De Niro‘s iconic slow-burning powder keg from Martin Scorsese’s 1976 masterpiece Taxi Driver.
Mitchell suggested that viewers may start to realize they never truly understood Aemond in the first place. “How on earth could I ever think that I understood that character in the first place? You barely recognize him.” This comparison suggests that Season 3 will feature significant character development for Aemond, potentially pushing him into completely unhinged territory.
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The Real Monsters Are Human
Aemond’s transformation is central to the chaos of the new season. Showrunner Ryan Condal has described the opening episode (which features the legendary Battle of the Gullet) as “arguably the craziest episode of television ever made.”
For Mitchell, this chaos is terrifying specifically because it is driven by human choice, not fantasy elements. Even as Aemond becomes more ruthless, Mitchell is focused on showing the fractured humanity within the villain.
“There’s something scary about not showing everything and keeping your cards close to your chest,” Mitchell said. “Aemond is almost this force, an ideal that is relentless. He’s just continually moving, sometimes at the expense of everyone else.”
He confirmed that fans will see Aemond “bloodying his sword” frequently. “I think he’s the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. He’s coming in shock and awe.”
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Stay tuned to VvipTimes for more exclusive interviews and coverage of House of the Dragon Season 3.
