- Paddy Considine said at a "Game of Thrones" convention his most difficult scene was Viserys' death.
- Considine, who played King Viserys, said that he actually "felt like dying" filming the scene.
"House of the Dragon" star Paddy Considine said that his oxygen levels dropped dangerously low after filming his death scene for numerous hours.
Considine starred in the hit "Game of Thrones" prequel as King Viserys Targaryen, the monarch of Westeros. However, throughout the series, his health deteriorated slowly but significantly until he died at the end of the eighth episode.
Speaking at HBO's "Game of Thrones" convention in Los Angeles on Sunday, Considine said the death scene was difficult emotionally and physically due to how long it took to shoot.
"It was a couple of days and it wasn't just difficult in an emotional way, it was just difficult to shoot," Considine said. "I was lying in that bed for hours and hours and doing that kind of breathing. The strange thing that happens is you think you're just acting [but] what happened when I was breathing that way was after a few hours my oxygen levels went straight down."
He continued: "I had my levels measured and they said, 'We've got to get out of here, you need to get outside.' And it was interesting because it was almost like my brain was telling my body how to breathe and my physiology was reacting to it, so my oxygen was dropping down. So I actually felt like I was dying, which was fun."
Considine said his other difficult scene to shoot was also in episode eight. In the episode, due to King Viserys' deteriorating health, the royal court has a debate in the throne room about who should be heir to the Driftmark, the castle of House Velaryon. This is cut off when Viserys himself makes a dramatic entry and, using a cane, hobbles to the throne to take control of the proceedings.
Considine told the crowd that he "balled" hip" while filming the walk.
"That throne walk in episode eight, how many times I did that, I can't remember. I think I broke three walking sticks doing it. I put so much weight on it and I absolutely balled my hip up. And I still get problems with it now. It rotated forward. So that's the price you pay," the actor said.