For all its dragons, battles and political intrigue, House of the Dragon has always been fascinated by something far more human: the gap between achievement and fulfilment. No character embodies that tension more than Corlys Velaryon. By the time audiences meet him, he has already accomplished what most people in Westeros could only dream of. He is the richest man in the realm, the greatest sailor in history and the head of one of its most powerful houses. Yet as the series progresses, those accomplishments increasingly feel overshadowed by the personal cost of pursuing them.
With season three picking up as the civil war reaches a devastating new stage, Corlys finds himself reflecting on the legacy he spent a lifetime trying to secure. Speaking with our Peter Gray upon his visit to Australia, Steve Toussaint discussed the character’s growing understanding of family, the lasting influence of Rhaenys, the irony of finally achieving power after losing so much, and why some of the most important lessons Corlys learns come from the children he spent years overlooking.
Congratulations on season three of House of the Dragon. I wanted to ask, first off, for two seasons I feel like Corlys has been chasing legacy. And the tragedy is that every time he gets closer to securing it, he loses someone he loves. Do you think season three is the first time we’re meeting a Corlys who genuinely understands the difference between legacy and family?
Oh, good question. Yeah, I think if he doesn’t completely understand it, he’s on the way to understanding it. He’s on the way to reassessing what’s important in his life. Because, as you said, in the first two seasons, and particularly season one, getting close to the throne and securing the family is all that matters. Never mind his kid, never mind his own personal happiness. “Do what I tell you to do!” And then, of course, he suffers these losses.
I think by the time we meet him in season three and the journey that he goes on, it’s like, “Well, I’m going to try and do my best to give these boys – my two remaining sons – some kind of whatever help I can,” which is basically legitimize them by giving them my name. But then after that they are free to make whatever choice they want to make. I think he’s at that point now. If he was to look back over his life, he might have thought to himself, “Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed Laenor to marry Princess Rhaenyra, for example, when he’s clearly gay.”
One of the things that struck me with the series is how often Rhaenys warned Corlys about the cost of ambition. Looking back now, do you think he understands her wisdom more after losing her than while he did when she was alive?
Oh, I think so. But I would probably question the basis, because I think he came to that conclusion very much earlier. If you remember back to the end of season one, when he’s woken up from that injury, and she has to break the news to him that his brother is dead at the hands of Daemon. I can’t remember the line, but he says something about ambition being the family ruin, or something like that. His next thing is, “Look, why don’t we just get out? Why don’t we just go back to our place with our granddaughters and enjoy our wealth?” It’s his wife who says, “No, it’s our duty to help Rhaenyra get on the throne.”
I think that’s what makes him realise she’s right. And, also, because as much as he loved his wife, whenever there was a problem he’d just go to sea for six years, so I think he felt like he owed her. I think that feeling, that sense of obligation to his wife, is what motors him on through much of the latter part of season two and into season three.
How much responsibility do you think Corlys feels for where his family ultimately ended up? Does he view himself as someone this will happen to, or someone who helped set it in motion?
Oh, I think he feels that he help set it in motion, definitely. I think he would be the one that would say it was his vaulting ambition, his single-mindedness…his blinkered view has been to the detriment of all these other things. To the happiness of his family, and indeed to their survival. I think he takes a lot of it on.
Looking at one of the strongest arcs of season two, what fascinates me is that Corlys spent so much of his life worrying about bloodlines and succession. Yet some of the people carrying his legacy forward are the people he spent years refusing to acknowledge. What do you think that irony taught him in any way?
I don’t want to give anything away, but there is a moment in episode one where he acknowledges his faults in the rift between himself and these two illegitimate boys. I think that in itself is a seismic moment for him. Just to apologize to anybody other than his wife is a big deal for him. And then I think also coming along with that is the idea that he needs to do his job as a parent. To try and facilitate his children, so that they can go on and make their choices responsibly. But they are their choices, not his. I think maybe he learns to let go a little, perhaps.
I think there’s something tragic about Corlys finally becoming the Hand after losing so much. He’s finally closer to power than ever before, but is perhaps less interested in it. How do you see that contradiction?
I see it exactly like that. I think there are so many stories in life and in history of people who seek that particular prize, whatever that may be. They do everything they can to get it, and then when they get it, they’re like, “Oh, is that it?” You hear stories about people who sought the top job…
I’m just bringing it into a real world example, where at home right now we have Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who as part of the Labor Party was trying so hard to get back into government after however many years of Tory stuff. Now he’s in there. I can’t imagine he’s having a good time (laughs). Suddenly you realise, “Oh, now I just put a target on my back.” I think for Corlys it’s maybe not a target on his back, but it’s certainly like this goblet of win that I’m seeking is actually quite sour, frankly.
Corlys gave us one of the defining lines of the series with, “History remembers names, not blood,” and after everything he’s endured, do you think he still believes that?
Yeah, I do. Actually, I think he still does. I think, despite the fact that he is evolving and he wants these boys to forge their own way, because he can’t set them up, and clearly Alyn wouldn’t want that kind of help anyway. I still think he wants to legitimize them, he still wants them to have his name. He still desperately wants the Velaryon name to continue, because if it doesn’t, I guess he would feel that all the things that he’s done would count for nothing. I don’t think he’s quite ready to accept that. Maybe that’s the next step? I don’t know.
What’s fascinating about Corlys is that he’s one of the few people in Westeros who actually achieved everything he set out to achieve before the story even started. Do you think House of the Dragon is ultimately asking whether achievement and fulfilment are completely different things?
I’d never thought of that. I guess they are. It’s kind of linked to the answer before. Good question. As human beings, the reason that civilization has made so much progress is because people have never been completely satisfied. We’re not living like the Romans did, because we have made innovations. People want to know the answers to whatever it is and how does this thing work? How can I make this thing easier? I suppose he suffers from the human condition that, as you said, he’s the richest man in Westeros when we meet him. He has it all. And yet that’s still not enough. That’s a very good question.
And I feel like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are escapism for many audiences. When Steve wants to sit down and escape, what’s the show you go to?
Oh, wow, what am I watching at the moment? What have I been watching? I can’t think. Oh, this is going to sound like I’m trying to make HBO feel good (laughs), but I have literally just started watching The Pitt. I feel like I’m late to the party because I was hearing about it for a while. “Oh, Noah Wyle as another doctor?” And then I watched it…Oh, my god. It’s so good. So, that’s my escape right now.
I was the same. Came to the first season late. And then was hooked. You’re really in for something!
(Laughs) So I’ve been told.
House of the Dragon Season Three debuts only on HBO Max from Monday, 22nd June, with new episodes dropping every Monday, with the season finale airing August 10th.
