House Of The Dragon Star Who Plays King Viserys Doesn't Watch The Show - "It's Debilitating"

House of the Dragon star Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys on the Game of Thrones prequel, has stopped watching the TV series because he feels doing so is "debilitating." Considine spoke to The New York Times about this and other elements of the TV show in a spoiler-filled interview.

In the interview, Considine said he stopped watching House of the Dragon after Episode 2, so he has not seen his character's memorable death scene in Episode 8. In fact, he's not sure that he ever will.

"Some people don't like to watch themselves, and I'm one of those people. It's debilitating. I tend to just stay away. I'm sure somebody will show me a photograph," he said.

King Viserys dies at the end of House of the Dragon Episode 8 after succumbing to a horrible illness that made his entire body erode. In Episode 8, viewers finally got to see how extreme his illness was that caused him to wear a mask over a side of his face.

"The extremity--Viserys looking so emaciated, how it's so cancerous, this thing, that it eats into his face--that decision was made more than halfway into the shoot. So it went probably more extreme than I had originally imagined it would go," Considine said.

The actor said he watched his own father die of cancer, noting that he had a "very rapid demise." For House of the Dragon, this helped make his own character's demise more relatable.

"It certainly made sense to me, and I think it was pretty shocking and effective. It becomes a physical manifestation of all the infighting and skulduggery, really," Considine said. "The mystery is why so many people crave the Iron Throne. It's not something Viserys craved; he just had a sense of duty. He knows the weight of being king, the weight of the responsibility, and the toll it can take."

Although Viserys dies at the end of Episode 8, fans are wondering if Considine could return to play the king again as part of flashback. Considine said fans shouldn't hold their breath for this to happen.

"I love him so much. I think he's my favorite character I've ever played," he said. "But I would struggle with that. His story has been told. He made his impact. He was the peaceful king that everybody thought was a bore, and he brought some love and compassion to the show. I don't know what more you could do with that. So I think this is the end."

House of the Dragon's ninth episode arrives this Sunday, October 16 (watch a trailer here), with the season finale coming a week later on October 23. The show has been renewed for a second season, but HBO has yet to announce when it's coming or what to expect from it.

For more, check out GameSpot's House of the Dragon review and what other critics are saying about it. Beyond House of the Dragon, HBO is developing a Jon Snow TV series with Kit Harington and George R.R. Martin.