Emmy season is already in full swing, and Peter Claffey is learning it can be as tough as a professional rugby game. Especially when you’re shooting overseas. Battling jet lag, the Irish actor sat down to chat in Los Angeles before an official Television Academy screening and Q&A for “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” HBO’s massive “Game of Thrones” prequel, where Claffey portrays the Knight in question.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” novellas, “Knight” finds Claffey as Duncan (“Dunk”), an apprentice of humble beginnings whose questionable mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), has passed away. Over the first six episodes, Dunk is on a quest to gain his knighthood as Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall (a legendary figure in Westeros lore). When he runs into Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), his life takes a dramatic turn. That’s mostly because Egg is hiding his identity as Aegon Targaryen, the son of Prince Maekar (Sam Spruell), and potentially in line to sit on the Iron Throne.
The series earned initial critical acclaim, but took a few episodes for fans to become truly passionate over it. That was due to the events in episode five, “In the Name of the Mother,” directed masterfully by Owen Harris. Viewers were so ecstatic that for a few days, it was the no. 1 ranked episode of all-time on IMDB with a 10 out of 10 rating. This tied the 13-year-old record of “Breaking Bad’s,” “Ozymandias.” “Bad” fans were not happy and began review bombing “Mother” and, as you can guess, in response, “Thrones” fans started to review bomb “Ozymandias” in retaliation (at publication, both episodes now have duplicate 9.5 ratings). For Claffy, a massive fan of “Breaking Bad,” it was a bit of a shock.
“There was a page I’d been following for years. It’s like five million followers. Like a film enthusiast page. And I’ve been following for years just as a fan of movies and stuff,” Claffy says. “And then my stupid face is on a split screen [post]. And it’s like Dunk getting up in episode five, rising up from the ground and under it on a split screen, is like Bryan Cranston’s falling after Hank dies in ‘Ozymandias.’ And it was describing what was going on, and I was like, ‘This is insane.’ I mean, I couldn’t believe it. And I actually was just like, I’d rather if the ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ fans would just get along.”
The battle between the two fanbases has subsided for now, but it was eyebrow-raising for even the most cynical media observers. Luckily, Claffey’s attention was elsewhere. The second season of “Knight” earned an early greenlight and began filming before the first season even aired. During our sit-down, he spoke about whether that affected production, working with the now talented 11-year old Ansell, his plans for the future, the difficulties in shooting the gritty “Mother” episode, how season two (based on the novella “The Sworn Sword”) is substantially different from the first go around, and much more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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The Playlist: Are you all still shooting season two, or are you done?
Peter Claffey: No, we’re kind of halfway through it.
How stressful was it to start shooting the second season when you didn’t know what the reaction was going to be from fans watching the first season?
I think, to be honest, it was actually better because I was so nervous about how the reaction would be to the first season. And it was good to be at work and doing something to keep your mind off it. So, it would have been a lot harder if I was just sitting at home twiddling my thumbs and being there from the center to absorb that reaction. It was good to have something to be focused on and work through.
When did you realize that the fans were completely in love with this show? How many episodes in were you like, “Oh wait, they get it. They know what we’re trying to do.
I think it’s so different as well. And I don’t know if every “Game of Thrones” fan is in love with the show too, because it’s a totally different aspect. And I was a huge original “Game of Thrones” fan myself, and I knew it was not going to hit with a lot of fans of that original [show’s] greatness as well. But I do think there is a really lovely kind of magical aspect to it as well, and sort of an earthy, homey feel to it that would resonate with a lot of people, too. And I was just nervous for people to stick through because it takes a while in that first season to get to that “Game of Thrones,” really like messy, violent greatness. You really have to stick through. And I was just hoping to God that people would be able to fall in love with the characters and get through to it. And it seems to have. The reaction to episodes three, four, and five is amazing. And the thing was just to do justice to that novella, because George’s novella is an incredible story. And when you really sit down and absorb it and read it, it’s just an amazing story. And thankfully, Ira did such an amazing job translating into the screen. And once you do that story justice, I knew that people would enjoy it for sure.
Especially episode five, “In the Name of the Mother,” where fans went to IMDB and voted it the highest-rated television episode of all time. Then the “Breaking Bad” fans got all mad about it. I’m sure you guys were shooting and wondering what was going on.
That was one of those weird moments where I’m in love with “Breaking Bad,” one of my favorite things ever. And I try not to look at any of this stuff on Instagram or anything, just try and keep away from it as much as possible, apart from the odd comment here and there, and see some really lovely stuff. But yeah, there was a page I’d been following for years. It’s like five million followers. Like a film enthusiast page. And I’ve been following for years just as a fan of movies and stuff. And then my stupid face is on a split screen [post]. And it’s like Dunk getting up in episode five, rising up from the ground and under it on a split screen, is like Bryan Cranston’s falling after Hank dies in “Ozymandias.” And it was describing what was going on, and I was like, “This is insane.” I mean, I couldn’t believe it. And I actually was just like, I’d rather if the “Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad” fans would just get along.
Just get along.
I mean, “Breaking Bad” was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen on television. And then the original “Game of Thrones” series is the same thing. So I think, “Why don’t we just like big up both of us instead of trying to degrade them?”
