House of the Dragon: “Someone came to me and told me they hated me!” – News Series

In the universe imagined by George RR Martin, he is nicknamed the “Kingmaker”. A seemingly dignified knight but with murky motivations and actions, Ser Criston Cole is one of the characters who most divides House of the Dragon fans.

Loved or hated, he leaves no one indifferent, starting with Rhaenyra Targaryen, his first love, whom he betrays to side with (and in bed) Alicent Hightower.

House of the Dragon: Was it really worth the two-year wait?

While in Paris to promote season 2 of the series, currently available on the Max platform, its interpreter Fabien Frankel answered our questions, with all simplicity and frankness, and in French please!

AlloCiné: As part of the promotion of “House of the Dragon”, journalists were specifically asked to conduct spoiler-free interviews. So how can we talk about a series and a new season without spoiling?

Fabien Frankel: Normally, I’m not alone. They put me with someone and then I wait for the others to respond… I never respond first, because I have a problem with the spoiler. I spoil things all the time…I wait for the person to respond, then I copy what they say! (laughs)

The idea is not to become the Tom Holland of Westeros!

Does it spoil a lot? Mark Ruffalo too, he does a lot. I’m working with him at the moment, he told me he had a problem with that! He doesn’t know how to stop spoiling all the Marvel stuff. Even one day, he told me something huge about the Marvel franchise. I told him : “I don’t think you have the right to tell me that, buddy!”

So without spoiling, what can we say about your character and his evolution in this season 2 of “House of the Dragon”?

In season 1, Criston Cole was part of Rhaenyra’s narrative, then Alicent’s narrative. Now I have the chance to have a bit of my own narrative, which he decides according to his own motivations. It changes a little because it is more central. He is more at the heart of the story.

He is a character who has a particular evolution. At first, we say to ourselves that he is almost Prince Charming. Then he becomes really quite dark, to the point, I believe, in season 1, of having been one of the characters most hated by fans. That means you’re doing your job well!

Yes I hope ! But it was like that from the reading. When you play a role, you kind of try to get into it mentally, to try to understand why people do what they do. I didn’t know it was going to be so controversial. At first I was surprised. I remember, I was in a cinema and someone came up to me to tell me that he hated me! But that’s the very nature of this series, it is like that. Characters are loved, then hated, then loved, then hated. I’m sure it will continue like this.

Speaking of reactions, do you follow what is said on social media after each episode airs?

No, I’m moving away from that. Every time you look, you immediately regret it because someone always finds something you did, something you said… And you say to yourself “F***!” So no, I’m not watching. And I won’t watch this season, I think.

There is an interesting element in your character, beyond his evolution, it is his “body language”, his body language. And everything that armor brings. How did you work on this?

It was super interesting for me, because naturally, I’m someone who moves around a lot. I am very active, I like to always have something to do. While Criston Cole is completely still. And it took me a while to become comfortable with the character’s immobility. But once I got used to it, it helped me because it gave me a structure for the character. It’s like someone gives you a boxing ring and you’re only allowed to perform in that ring. Outside of the ring, he’s not the character. And I found it very interesting in terms of development.

This season’s marketing pits #TeamGreen and #TeamBlack against each other. You’ve been on both teams, and now #TeamGreen. Do we sometimes say to ourselves that the opposite camp may be right? Or that what his character is doing might not be acceptable?

We do not have a choice. We are employed by the production, screenwriter and story. I remember this story with Tarantino: an actor comes to him and says “My character wouldn’t say that.” ; and Tarantino responds “If he says so, because that’s what I wrote”. You don’t really have a choice in what your character does or what he says. But you have a choice in how he does it and how he says it. That’s what I find interesting for an actor.

What is also interesting for an actor is to act in several languages. You are bilingual (the interview took place in French Editor’s note), also would you be interested in playing in French? Have you had any suggestions?

Not for the moment. I shot the series The Serpent with a lot of French actors, including Tahar Rahim who became a very good friend. We talked a lot about working in France and he gave me a lot of advice. But my career has mostly been in America and Europe outside France, until then. And I would really like to work in France. I grew up with French cinema, the films of Louis de Funès and Belmondo. I have an affinity with French cinema, in relation to my mother and my grandmother. I know that for my poor grandmother who doesn’t speak a word of English, being able to watch a series that she understands would make her very happy.

Did you suggest dubbing your character from “House of the Dragon” in the French version?

I was just talking about it yesterday with Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon). I’ll ask my agents. I’d love to do it just to see what it’s like. After that it can be long too! Let’s let a French actor who speaks French better than me do it, because they will do it better than me.

Comments collected in Paris on Friday June 7, 2024

Episodes of season 2 of House of the Dragon can be found every Monday exclusively on the new streaming platform Max