Matt Smith says his House of the Dragon character has "slightly too much" sex

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The Game of Thrones prequel isn't cutting back on sex scenes

Matt Smith in House of the Dragon
(Image credit: HBO)

Game of Thrones had a well-earned reputation for being one of the raunchiest shows on television. It stands to reason, then, that its spin-off House of the Dragon will also see its characters knocking boots and bumping uglies. But actor Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen in the upcoming HBO show, thinks his character might be involved in too many sex scenes.

When asked by Rolling Stone if Daemon is involved in sex scenes during House of the Dragon’s first season, Smith jokingly replied, "Yeah – slightly too much, if you ask me."

On his reaction to the show’s approach to sex scenes, Smith said, “You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’”

For Smith, however, that’s not necessarily a bad thing – because it reflects the unflinching nature of George R.R. Martin’s source material.

"I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we’re living in]?," Smith said. "And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written."

House of the Dragon is set to launch on August 21 and will revolve around the last days of the Targaryen dynasty – 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. It will eventually go head-to-head with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and co-showrunner Ryan Condal is hoping both fantasy shows succeed in the coming months.

"My hope is that both series work and find a huge fanbase and that there’s a huge overlap in the fanbase," Condal told The Hollywood Reporter. "I think the more big, expensive – really expensive – fantasies that work on television, the better for us fans because they’ll make more of them. I desperately want Rings of Power to work. I’m going to be there watching it the first night it’s available, I will watch all of them."

Discover what else is coming your way with our guide to new TV shows – from Cobra Kai to Marvel’s 2023 lineup.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.