‘House of the Dragon’ on HBO: How Paddy Considine ruled over people’s hearts long before Westeros
The phrase 'jack of all trades' is apt for actor Paddy Considine who will be seen in HBO's 'House Of The Dragon'. An English actor, director, and screenwriter of Irish descent, he frequently collaborates with filmmaker/director Shane Meadows. He came to prominence in the early 2000s with a string of performances in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British Film Awards and a Silver Lion for Best Short Film at the 2007 Venice Film Festival among others. Impressive, right? Read on to find out more about Considine and his role in HBO's 'Game Of Thrones: House Of The Dragon'.
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Considine's entire career till now
After graduating, Meadows cast Considine in several short films, as well as his second film, 'A Room for Romeo Brass'. In his debut, Considine played the disturbed character Morell. His performance led to Paweł Pawlikowski casting him in his first starring role in 'Last Resort' in which Considine played the love-struck misfit Alfie. He increased his profile during the early to mid-2000s with supporting and starring roles in cult films such as '24 Hour Party People,' and 'In America'.
In 2004, Considine starred in what was then the most significant role of his career, as Richard in Meadows' revenge film 'Dead Man's Shoes', a film he co-wrote and for which he won the Best British Actor award at the 2005 Empire Awards. In the same year, he starred in 'My Summer of Love', his second film with Pawlikowski. The following year, he played Frank Thorogood in 'Stoned'. It was around this time that he earned a reputation for portraying villains, antiheroes, and darker characters.
In 2006, Considine penned what later became his debut short, 'Dog Altogether'. He claims that it was his co-star Gary Oldman who gave him the confidence to make the film, which led to him thanking Oldman during his BAFTA acceptance speech. In 2006, he starred in 'Pu-239' as Timofey Berezin, a worker at a Russian nuclear facility who gets exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. In 2007, he landed roles in two popular big-budget films; the third film in the Bourne Trilogy film series, 'The Bourne Ultimatum,' in which he played newspaper reporter Simon Ross, and 'Hot Fuzz,' in which he had his first comedic role as DS Andy Wainwright. In 2008, Considine starred in 'My Zinc Bed' a TV film for BBC/HBO. In 2011, Considine appeared as Porter Nash in the adaptation of the Ken Bruen novel Blitz, as well as starring Jack Whicher in 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher', written by Helen Edmundson and Neil McKay.
Considine starred in 'The World's End', as one of the Five Musketeers reattempting an "epic" pub crawl. In August 2015, he confirmed that he was writing the screenplay for the film 'Journeyman,' in which he will also star. Considine is also writing a film from a ghost story called 'The Leaning', with plans to direct both films. He will continue to work with Shane Meadows on 'King of the Gypsies', a biopic of bare-knuckle fighter Bartley Gorman, whom Considine met and became friends with whilst working as a photographer.
Considine has been cast as King Viserys I Targaryen, the compassionate ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and ancestor to Emilia Clarke's character Daenerys Targaryen, in the upcoming 'Game of Thrones' prequel. 'House Of The Dragon'. The show airs on Sunday, August 21 on HBO and HBO Max.