Matt Smith Suffered Through A Painful On-Set Injury To Film House Of The Dragon

Matt Smith, famous for his role as the Eleventh Doctor on "Doctor Who," is set to play Prince Daemon Targaryen in "House of the Dragon," the upcoming prequel series that takes place 200 years before the events of HBO's massively popular "Game of Thrones." Based on George R. R. Martin's 2018 book "Fire & Blood," the series will focus on House Targaryen and its civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.

While a recent piece about the hotly anticipated series in The Hollywood Reporter notes that some fans have been skeptical regarding whether or not Smith is the right actor for the role of Daemon, another detail in that very piece shows that, at least, he's fiercely committed when it comes to playing the Targaryen royal. That shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. After all, one of Smith's most recent high-profile roles was as the real-life Prince Philip on Netflix's "The Crown."

In addition to giving his thoughts on his latest royal role, Smith also opened up to THR about a pretty serious-sounding injury he sustained on the set of "House of the Dragon."

Although a lot of actors have stunt doubles for scenes that involve physical movement or potential danger, it seems that Matt Smith did at least some of his own stunts for "House of the Dragon" because he got injured during one of them!

In the Hollywood Reporter piece about the show, it was revealed that Smith injured a disc in his neck while filming a stunt. The publication even notes that the actor was still in physical therapy for the injury long after filming had wrapped. Regarding the injury, Smith said, "It's a f***ing pain in the neck — literally, physically and metaphorically." However, the report indicates that Smith worked through said pain to complete his portion of filming. There was no indication of exactly what kind of stunt Smith was participating in when the injury was sustained, but it does imply that things may be getting rough and tumble for Daemon Targaryen over the course of Season 1.

After what many considered to be a disappointing final season of "Game of Thrones," the prequel series has the potential to win back fans who felt the original show ended on a sour note. We'll see how that plays out when "House of the Dragon" premieres on HBO on August 21, 2022.