Why House Of The Dragon's King Viserys Targaryen Looks So Familiar
This week saw our highly anticipated return to the Seven Kingdoms with HBO's "House of the Dragon." The "Game of Thrones" prequel details the Targaryen reign on that notoriously pointy seat and the power that comes with it. Naturally, just as the original show made the iron throne a bloody game of medieval musical chairs, "House of the Dragon" looks to tell a similar story, with some very familiar faces playing their part in it.
One big contender in this puzzle of betrayal, blood, and inevitable burns from dragon fire is King Viserys I, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and one of the few decent live-action leaders not corrupted by his title. Add in the issue of his power-hungry brother, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), and it's safe to say that watching the throne in case it's stolen from him is a top priority. Of course, being tasked with such a duty demands a talent to handle it, and apparently, someone who has gone against governments, gangs, and carefully aimed jars of bolognese fits the bill. That was all before he helped face off against supernatural elements that shared an uncanny resemblance to himself in a popular Stephen King adaptation.
Considine walked a fine line between hero and villain in Dead Man's Shoes
A staple in British cinema and a career-defining role for Paddy Considine in 2004, "Dead Man's Shoes" marked the actor's second collaboration with director Shane Meadows, with whom he also co-wrote the project. In a simple story of revenge and retribution, Considine plays Richard, a soldier who returns home to inflict a brutal form of justice on the men who humiliated his mentally challenged brother, Anthony (Toby Kebbell), while he was away.
While the film also served as a stepping stone for Kebbell, who went on to star in the likes of "RocknRolla," "Black Mirror," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," and "War for the Planet of the Apes," Considine is its driving force. Richard dresses like Travis Bickle and hunts like Michael Myers, leaving grown men literally running for the hills with his simple but highly effective scare tactics. Even if you haven't seen "Dead Man's Shoes," Considine's now iconic "You're there, mate," moment is a taster of the level of intensity he carries that never dials down. Who knew one man in a gas mask could do so much damage?
He got a taste of two flavors in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy
More faces besides those of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost make multiple appearances in Edgar Wright's beloved trifecta of films. Paddy Considine managed to get two hits out of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, first in "Hot Fuzz" as one of the two Andys and then in the pub crawl and alien invasion film "The World's End" as Steven Prince. But as divisive as fans may be on whether the latter is great or good, it's the revered "Hot Fuzz" and Considine's turn as bolognese-bombed DS Andy Wainwright that had the bigger impact, influenced by one of the movie's most iconic scenes, which was born out of a brilliant bit of spontaneity from Considine.
The scene in question sees both DS Andy Wainwright and DC Andy Cartwright (Rafe Spall) exit right off camera after goading Pegg's dedicated PC Nicholas Angel. What Wright revealed to Empire, however, was that Considine's brief return before continuing out of the shot came straight from the actor himself. "Paddy was just f***ing around, basically," Wright explained. "We really had to work closely in the edit to keep it in the movie. If you watch closely, Rafe Spall is already cracking up in the background. But as somebody who plans their movies to within an inch of their life, it's nice to have these little magical moments like that."
Pride is one of Considine's most heartwarming movies
Easily one of the most feel-good performances in Paddy Considine's back catalog, "Pride" tells the true story of gay rights activists who worked alongside a small Welsh town during the 1984 U.K. miners' strike. Considine is part of an excellent ensemble cast of British talent, including the legendary Bill Nighy, Dominic West (who refused a role in "Game of Thrones"), Andrew Scott, and Imelda Staunton.
Unfurling like a two-hour hug and earning critical acclaim following its release, "Pride" is just a top-to-bottom great film about the attempt to do good and the friendships that can come from it. Considine plays the miners' spokesperson, Dai Donovan, one of the most prominent defenders of joining the two causes. Following the release of the film, Considine revealed his concerns about taking on the role, which were quickly put to bed when he met the man he portrayed. "The deadliest thing you can do as an actor is try to overthink things and overcomplicate them and make them really interesting," he told HeyUGuys. "And I met Dai, and I got it all from meeting him in an hour. He's just a beautiful guy with a great heart, very, very selfless, a lot of integrity, and I thought, 'That's all I've got to take is that integrity onto the set.'"
On Peaky Blinders, he caused a holy heap of trouble as Father Hughes
Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) goes up against many nefarious ne'er-do-wells during his reign over the Peaky Blinders crime gang. Still, to his credit, Paddy Considine seated himself with the best of the worst as no-good, double-crossing man of the cloth Father John Hughes. Appearing in Season 3 as the show's main threat, Father Hughes is the deceptive side-switching priest working with everyone working against Tommy and going to despicable means to succeed.
The creator of "Peaky Blinders," Steven Knight, described Father Hughes as "the most evil character that 'Peaky Blinders' has ever seen" (via Deadline). He wasn't wrong. Besides the prominent indications of Hughes having abused Polly's (Helen McCrory) estranged son, Michael (Finn Cole), the man who was more devil than holy man even kidnapped Tommy's son as a bargaining chip to sway their business in his favor. Naturally, these kinds of altercations led to great performances between the two stars, which Knight relished in. Speaking to Stack in 2016, Knight said, "One of the great pleasures of this series is that I know I can write Cillian and Paddy together, and just know that it is going to happen. It is brilliant."
He was the man and supernatural beast on HBO's The Outsider
The cast list of HBO's Stephen King adaptation "The Outsider" was crammed with muted but massively effective performances. One welcome surprise, however, was Paddy Considine as both the man and the monster at the center of it all. Claude Bolton, who begins as a witness of a brutal child murder, works with a group of investigators and private detective Holly Gibney (Cynthia Ervo) to uncover the attacker and its nightmarish nature.
As Claude, Considine does a great job working opposite Max Beesley as Seale, his reckless on-screen brother. However, as the creature, he gave an impressive and massively unsettling turn as a genuinely devious doppelgänger, rounding off two great appearances for the price of one. While it's a shame that HBO never followed through with its plans for a second season, seeing Considine in such an out-there tale was worth the single trip alone.