A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms star says his "mild-mannered" hero being at odds with Game of Thrones-style violence made his performance "easier": "It's something to react off"

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms marks a change of pace for the Game of Thrones universe. Unlike the original show or prequel House of the Dragon, the focus isn't on vicious lords or conniving noblemen – instead, it's Dunk, a humble hedge knight, who takes center stage.

Although Dunk's good nature is at odds with the world around him, actor Peter Claffey says he didn't find the role to be too much of a "balancing act."

"It made it easier," Claffey says during a roundtable interview attended by GamesRadar+. "It's something to react off when you have somebody that's gentle with animals and has a gentle nature about them and a very unassuming, sort of nervous energy, when you see so many crazy, awful things occurring. I think the violence aspect was something to react off."

"It draws a lot of comedy out as well, when you have these awkward situations where you're seeing crazy things happening, and you have a very tame, mild-mannered character portrayed, it allows a lot of opportunities to see the humorous side of things and situations," he adds. "So I thought it was more of a help, really, than a hindrance."

In the new show, which is set 90 years before Game of Thrones, former squire Dunk finds himself aimless after the death of his master and decides to try to make his fortune at a tourney. He finds himself with an unlikely squire of his own, however, after an encounter with mysterious stable boy Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell).

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres on January 18 on HBO and HBO Max and January 19 on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Stay up to date with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release schedule, or get the lowdown with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review.