‘House of the Dragon’: Fabien Frankel Reflects on George R.R. Martin’s Criston Cole Casting Announcement

Fabien Frankel‘s casting as House of the Dragon‘s Ser Criston Cole was announced by George R.R. Martin. The beloved author revealed Frankel’s casting on his blog in 2021, saying that the common-born knight was a complicated figure. That would be the only House of the Dragon casting reveal that Martin made himself. Following the pivotal House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 6, Frankel looks back on that career-changing moment with TV Insider and on what the series has meant to him in the time since. Warning: House of the Dragon spoilers ahead.

“That was such a cool moment, man, to have George R.R. Martin announce Criston like that,” Frankel tells us. “He must have had real affinity for that character from his books.”

The Task star says that Criston is just as antagonistic as any other character on the Game of Thrones spinoff because of his human complexities.

“I just don’t think there’s any out-and-out hero [in the show],” he says, adding, “This is a true ensemble cast. All the characters, at times you follow them, at times you hate them, and at times you love them. That’s what makes the show so interesting, and it’s what made Game of Thrones so interesting.”

Still, Frankel has been explaining and defending his character since Season 1, when the knight had his heart broken by then-Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock and Emma D’arcy). Criston later fell in love with Queen Alicent (Emily Carey and Olivia Cooke), whom he loved until the day he died in a completely inglorious, abrupt manner; there would be no hero’s death for Ser Criston Cole, despite his best efforts to produce it.

We tried to get to the heart of Criston’s love for Rhaenyra and Alicent in our Season 2 junket interview with Frankel and Matt Smith, which infamously went off the rails (check it out in the video above). At the end of a long press day, Frankel told Shadow and Act in the interview before ours that it takes him a couple of months to get into the part during filming of the HBO drama, which only filmed for about six months for Season 2. Smith and Frankel, deliriously tired and feeling silly, couldn’t stop laughing at the response, even when our interview began. The result was a hilarious video that Frankel says gets mentioned to him in casting meetings to this day.

With Frankel’s time on House of the Dragon at an end, he looks back on Criston’s final stand, Martin’s casting announcement, and our ridiculously fun Season 2 meeting — in the interview below.

Before we get started, I wanted to thank you for our Season 2 junket, when you and Matt Smith couldn’t stop laughing.

Fabien Frankel: Oh my god. Kelli, you were such a good sport. Honestly, by the way, Matt and I talk about that every time we see each other.

Really?

Oh my god. That was… Did you get context on what happened? Do you know why we were laughing?

Yes, I did. I’m friends with [the journalist in the interview prior]. He told me why.

OK, good, good. Because we never wanted you to think it was you.

I didn’t.

I said this thing about, “It takes me three months to get into the part,” or something and that. Oh man, Kelli, that was truly one of the funniest interviews. I actually have the full-length one on my phone somewhere that I got HBO to send me.

View on Threads

Oh my god, I need the full-length one. We have ours, of course, but it has music in it and everything.

Yeah, which has been cut and stuff. No, I have the original full-length. Honestly, it’s crazy because it doesn’t stop. The full-length version of that interview is as unfocused, but you were such a good sport about that.

It was honestly the funniest day of my life. I walked out of the junket being like, “We just struck gold. People are going to love this video.” It was so much fun.

I have been sent it so many times. I mean, I’ve been to meetings with casting directors and they’ve been like, “That video of you and Matt with TV Insider is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.”

I mean, what a legacy.

Honestly, Matt and I think about that a lot, so, thank you for that.

I’m honored to be involved in it. It even came up in an interview I did with Olivia for The Girlfriend. It was so funny.

It was too funny.

It was so good. And like I said, it’s still one of my favorite interviews that’s ever happened.

Oh, well, I’m grateful. I don’t know how we’ll ever live up to the hype.

I mean, it’s just a golden video. It’ll live on forever.

That is right. It will, it will.

Theo Whiteman/HBO

But to talk about Criston Cole in your final House of the Dragon episode, he doesn’t get this glorious hero’s death that he wanted. Of course, that’s from the book, and I’m not saying whether he did or didn’t deserve a heroic end when I ask this, but why do you think Criston feels he earned an ending that people would write songs about?

Related

‘House of the Dragon’: Does Ormund See Daeron as His Son? James Norton Explains

Well, I don’t know that he feels he earns that. I think that’s what he wants. I think they’re two different things. What he would like is for that to be the death that he gets, and of course, that’s not what ends up happening. But I don’t think he feels he’s due it or that he’s earned it. I just think that that’s what he wants, and so that’s what he shoots for.

Yeah, it’s his dream. Do you think that he ever doubted that he was wrong to help steal the throne from Rhaenyra? Did his commitment to Alicent ever waver? I wonder if he fully grasped why his rivals would misunderstand him or blame him for his part in the war.

Oh, no. We’re human beings. We question all our decisions all the time. I question whether I should have coffee or tea in the morning. I don’t know that these characters should be seen as any different. They’re just as human, they’re just as faulted, and they’re just as unsure of their own thinking. I just think that in this world you have to act swiftly, make decisions promptly, and stick to them. And so once he’s made his bed, he’s got a lie in it. Do I think he constantly feels that he’s made the right call? No, I don’t. But that’s the call that he’s made. And certainly his loyalty is to Alicent. That I don’t think he thinks is a mistake at all because Alicent is the one who saved him at his darkest moment in Season 1.

Theo Whiteman/HBO

How would you describe how his love for Alicent evolved over the seasons after she saved his life?

Well, it grows, it matures. It’s 15 years, so whatever 15 years of change looks like. It’s a great deal of time. Certainly he looks upon her with great reverence. If someone saved your life, you owe them a lot. And so that’s what this all comes down to.

Related

'House of the Dragon' Star on Daeron's 'Turning Point' After Shocking Attack

I wonder if there’s any part of him that’s still in love with Rhaenyra after all these years.

No, I don’t think so. I don’t think he’s forgotten about that feeling, but no, I definitely don’t think so.

Could you expand on that? Why do you think that is?

Time heals all wounds, and so much time has passed. Are you still in love with the person that you were in love with 15 years ago? I hope not for you. It’s not six months, it’s not two years, it’s not recent anymore. If you’d have asked me that question three years after, maybe the answer would’ve been different or two years after. This is 15 years, it’s a lifetime. So, no, I just think time takes those feelings away.

I asked Harry [Collett] this question about Jace after Battle of the Gullet. What was Criston thinking as each arrow hit him? And do you think he could see it was a woman who killed him?

He thought, “Oh f**k,” when the first arrow hit him. You always hear people talking about their final moments. You go to this place and that place is filled with things and people that are far more powerful than whatever is on this planet. He believes that, and that’s no doubt where he went. I don’t think he would’ve seen who killed him. I couldn’t see that far away myself when I was doing it. So, I don’t know, unless he has Cyclops-level vision. Does a Cyclops have good vision? I always forget…. No, I don’t think he saw.

Theo Whiteman/HBO

George R.R. Martin announced your casting back in 2021. He said in his description about the character that Criston is “a lover (or is he?), a seducer (or is he?), a betrayer (or is he?), a breaker of hearts, and a maker of kings.” After five years of playing him, what would you add to this character description?

Related

'House of the Dragon' Cast Explains That Tragic Ending in Season 3 Premiere (VIDEO)

Oh God, I wouldn’t add anything. George put it perfectly. That was such a cool moment, man, to have George R.R. Martin announce Criston like that. He must have had real affinity for that character from his books. And undoubtedly his words are the words. His words are these words. So, I would add nothing. I think he said it perfectly.

Thinking about that moment when you saw that post and what it must have meant, as you said, for his feelings about the character, how did that feel for you? And what are your reflections on your journey as this character now that it’s coming to an end?

Oh, that was a truly amazing feeling. I was so privileged that George had done that, and I remember exactly where I was, who I was with, and what that feeling was.

I will say the outpour of love for this character, or for what this character has created in terms of as an engine for this show, has been really wonderful to see. I’m incredibly grateful for what this show is and what it’s given me. It’s so rare to get to make something that people actually see, let alone love. I feel very, very privileged.

This was the break that so many actors dream of. Luckily enough, it happened for me as a 26-year-old. I’m more grateful now as a 32-year-old than I was then, because I understand how incredibly fickle this industry is and how unbelievably rare it is to get to be in something of this scale, of this quality, and with this dense of a role. Whether you love him or hate him, he’s an undeniably interesting character, or at least a character that creates conversation. I’m immensely proud to have been a part of that.

Theo Whiteman/HBO

Like you said, he’s loved and hated. Even though there are negative reactions to the character, there’s something strong about your performance that would warrant those kinds of reactions to it.

Oh, that’s very kind of you to say.

I mean it. I wonder how you feel about the fact that he’s such a controversial character, because not a lot of actors have that experience. I do think it’s unique and special despite Criston having hot and cold reactions.

Yeah, it is. It’s a joy to get to play a character who creates this kind of conversation. Those are the parts you want to play. I went to drama school for four years, and those are the roles that you would want to get in the play, as nice as it is to play the hero.

Our show, to my mind, doesn’t have any heroes. I don’t think it has any heroes, and I don’t think it has any villains. It is a show full of antagonists. There are characters that are easier to root for undoubtedly, but I just don’t think there’s any out-and-out hero. This isn’t necessarily a Superman-adjacent situation where you really are just behind one person. This is a true ensemble cast. All the characters, at times you follow them, at times you hate them, and at times you love them. That’s what makes the show so interesting, and it’s what made Game of Thrones so interesting.

Definitely. And how is the quality of House of the Dragon and your experience on it informing how you choose roles in the future?

I will always choose my roles based off of great filmmakers. And in this circumstance, House of the Dragon was great filmmakers. It was great directors, it was great scripts. It was an amazing cast. I consider all those a massively instrumental part of the filmmaking process. I will continue to choose roles with that in mind, but obviously at the time in which I got House of the Dragon, it was just so fortuitous. I was just so lucky that I was even put in that position.

House of the Dragon, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO, Streaming on HBO Max