House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 6 sees young Prince Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) finally reunited with his uncle, Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), but it’s maybe not the reconnection either were hoping for. The poor teenager, who Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton) is grooming to be king, finally gets a voice of his own on this week’s all-new episode of the HBO hit… And he finally gets a major wake up call.

**Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 6, now streaming on HBO Max**

Daeron Targaryen has long been one of the most enigmatic Targaryens in House of the Dragon. Essentially written out of Season 1, his mother Alicent (Olivia Cooke) sent him away to Oldtown when he was an infant to be raised by her family, the Hightowers. Alicent admits to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) that after bearing Viserys (Paddy Considine) three Targaryens, she wanted a Hightower. (We also should not forget that in Season 1, Alicent was obsessed with de-legitimizing Rhaenyra on the basis that her sons had dark hair and did not look Targaryen. Coincidence she sent her auburn-haired kid away? I don’t think so!)

We’ve since learned that Daeron has grown up torn between two Hightowers: the Machiavellian Ormund and chivalrous Gwayne. While Ormund makes designs to put Daeron on the Iron Throne, Gwayne just wants to keep his nephew safe and pure-of-heart. These clashing dynamics come to a dramatic head this week when Ormund eagerly welcomes “envoys” from House Baratheon for the young king, while Gwayne immediately clocks they are assassins sent by Rhaenyra.

DECIDER caught up with House of the Dragon star Benjamin Evan Ainsworth this week to break down what’s going on in Daeron’s head, how growing up closer to his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) may have changed him, and what it’s like going from wearing a green tunic and slashing a sword in Westeros to doing the same thing as Link in Nintendo’s upcoming live action The Legend of Zelda movie…

DECIDER: I’m someone who’s a big fan of the books and the show, and so I’ve been waiting for Daeron the Daring to make his debut for a long time now. I love this week’s episode because we finally get to see the difference between how Daeron is with Ormund versus Gwayne. I was so struck how he totally becomes a different person and even says to Gwayne that he hates who he is when he’s around Ormund. What was it like for you to play this young man stuck in this tug of war between these two men and their different ideologies, and what is the true Daeron? 

BENJAMIN EVAN AINSWORTH: Yeah, I mean, two great performers in Freddie Fox and James Norton, I think, to start; those two are phenomenal. Freddie was one of my favorite parts of Season 2, as I watched it just as an audience member before even auditioning or anything. And then James Norton’s just phenomenal as Ormund and so fun to play off of. It’s almost like our relationship is so entwined that it feels like every step he takes in a scene I kind of step back, and it’s almost a back and forth, which is just super fun kind of to play. And I think Daeron’s role, between the two of them, there’s a lot of love for both of them. However twisted it is with Ormund, he’s a fatherly figure to Daeron, and Gwayne’s almost this brotherly figure as an uncle, and kind of explore how he can be himself with Gwayne. And I think that’s closer to who he really is, and had to kind of build this mechanism of covering up in front of Ormund and calculating his next decision of what to say because of how unpredictable and chaotic years.

So, yeah, I think this episode is fun because the stakes are continuing to rise in Tumbleton for Daeron, but also there’s a sense of a breath of fresh air comes through Gwayne’s presence. But he’s changed. He’s witnessed things. He’s sort of not completely wholly there for Daeron and so now it’s a question of, well, what do I do? Do I have to take it into my own hands? And yeah, and just it makes it all the more awesome and fun because they’re fantastic actors. 

Yeah, I thought it was really interesting and really haunting in a way when Daeron tells Gwayne, “You know I’m not gonna be king.” Because the Hightowers have this plan to put Daeron on the throne, but even Daeron’s very skeptical. I’m curious, what do you think he sees as his future at this point in the story? Do you think he is trying to survive? Does he want the throne? Where’s his head? 

Yeah, because if you had asked Daeron the question two weeks earlier, he would have said, “Well, I’ll become a knight, and then I’ll return to my family.” And in the space of a week, the answer’s completely changed. He’s been thrust into this kind of role of a king. His face is on a coin around — you know, wherever it is — and I think it’s a question he’s certainly asking of himself and one he’s trying to stay grounded within. Because he’s around a figure that he knows is unpredictable, and he knows isn’t necessarily a man like Gwayne, who he can completely trust. And so I think it’s tricky. He’s trying to hold on to some kind of pathway that’s moral. But I certainly don’t think seeing himself as king was something he had thought before, you know, this season. 

The scene with the would-be assassins that come in — Gwaynes’s fighting, Ormund’s screaming. It’s pure chaos. I’m curious what it was like for you in the room to film that. And what does Daeron make of that experience? Like he’s, for the first time probably in his life, the target of an assassination attempt. 

Yeah, I mean, it was like the craziest day ever. It was like the most Game of Thrones day I think anyone’s had. Because there was, you know, innards on the floor, blood, you know, there’s a big kind of meal happening as well. There’s someone throwing up right next to me, like it was crazy. So it was a lot of fun to witness. I can’t say I was too jealous of any other people getting stabbed or anything like that. But yeah, from Daeron’s perspective, just everything is real now. The threat is real. Gwayne’s there and supports me, but Ormund has almost become debilitated by his sensory sensitivity. There’s something shocking and almost like — there’s a fear, but there’s also like a frustration around this figure who is now throwing up right next to me has this kind of control over me and somehow those two things are real and are dangerous.

I think that the fact that the next scene, Daeron’s sparring outside as Ormund and Gwayne are watching. And I think that to me says that that experience has changed something. And I think it’s both to almost prove to himself he can protect himself. He goes out, trains, but it’s also to get away from this chaos. Like I didn’t ask for any of this, yet it’s right there, you know? 

I’m glad you brought up the sparring scene, because I love that. How Daeron’s like, “Oh, it’s three on one, I can do this.” It shows that his skill is a knight, but it also kind of reminded me of Aemond, in a way. And it made me wonder in a sliding doors world what would have happened if Daeron had been raised in King’s Landing. I was like, “I think he and Aemond would have been like buddy, buddy brothers.” Did you ever consider like what it would have been like for Daeron to have his siblings in his life and how that could have changed any of their paths? 

Yeah. I think being away has made his kind of childhood quite isolating. Like his main, true friend he’s had all the way is Tessarion, his dragon. If he had been around his brothers he would have had some kind of community, but he also would have been kind of vulnerable to the sour politics and the kind of the righteousness that kind of is in King’s Landing. And so whether he sees it or not, there are benefits to him being away and under Ormund’s watch. I think Daeron’s definitely imagined what his brothers are like, because he’s not seen for ages, but yeah, no. I think it’s just a part of his character which makes him, I guess, thoughtful. I suppose that more moral kind of compass he has comes from the sense of lack that he has of connection with people and he searches for love through figures. Which maybe isn’t the best idea, you know? 

You mentioned Tessarion and how close your character is to her. I was taken aback when Ormund is like, “Don’t be kind to like the beast.” How do you think Daeron balances what Ormund’s telling him about dragons and what Tessarion means to him? 

Yeah, I think those two things pulling him in different directions kind of feel like his Hightower and Targaryen sides clashing. That’s something that’s definitely caused him questions about his own identity and who he is and what matters to him and what he would like. He doesn’t have much agency over the decisions made about him this season. A lot of the decisions have been Ormund Hightower’s and I think there is a kind of friendship and connection that means a lot to him emotionally, but also a symbol of a power which threatens the very fabric of which Ormund and Daeron’s relationship is built upon. The power dynamics now are really clashing because he’s being styled king, yet he’s still in squire-ly garments. It’s like a kettle that’s boiling, I think, in this episode. I suppose it’s just like, where does that end up then? What happens? 

Before I let you go, I just think it’s very funny and cute and ironic that you’re in this fantasy epic wearing a green tunic and slashing a sword and you’re going to be doing that again next summer [in The Legend of Zelda]. Did that give you any confidence where you’re like, “Yeah, I can rock a green tunic in a fantasy world. I can do that.”

Oh my gosh. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, “What are the chances that these two roles are both fantasy, green tunics with swords?” But yeah, no, it’s funny. And in the experience of this, like there are similarities between the two. Like the scale, yet like the immense detail, despite how large things feel. You know, both very inviting and welcoming sets to join and be a part of. And two characters which have reputations amongst the fans and the audiences, and I think both would have been all the more scary to take on if it weren’t for how welcoming people were. You know, not just like creatives and writers, directors, and actors, and the crew that I got to work with on both, but also just the fans and how lovely they’ve been. 

This interview has been edited and formatted for clarity.