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House of the Dragonstar Steve Toussaint finally reacted to the racist comments he has received for playing the role of Corlys Velaryon. AfterGame of Thronesseason 8, Ryan J. Condal andA Song of Ice and Fireauthor George R.R. Martin brought up director Miguel Sapochnik as co-showrunner for the next endeavor: House of the Dragon.
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The plot has been set 200 years beforeGame of Thrones, the prequel illustrates the Dance of the Dragons and civil war inside the ruling House Targaryen.
House of the Dragon’s Actor Reacts to Racist Comments
House of the Dragonseason 1 pursues to explore the events directed towards power struggle, defining the relationships between its main characters. One crucial relationship is shown between Rhaenyra and Corlys Velaryon, played by Steve Toussaint. However, Corlys’ casting brought out criticism from some negative racist fan comments, who assumed Corlys was written white in the book, while the actor is Black.
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Steve Toussaint claimed that he has never bothered about why he got cast being a black man for the role, but he is very respectful and delighted that he won the opportunity to play this role. He said:
“To be frank with you, the first time I realized anything about this character’s color in the books was when my name was announced as the lead. And then there was all this backlash, and all this stuff coming up.”
“I never wasted my time in bothering to ask Ryan and Miguel why they cast me. I don’t give a damn. I was happy that I got the part; I decided I got the part because I earned it. And anybody who has an issue with it? They’ll have an issue with it, man. It’s not to do with me.”
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House of the Dragon Actor is Unbothered
He also expressed that he was actually unaware of the character’s race until he received the role and saw an artist’s statement of Corlys as a white man. The artwork illustrates Corlys as a fair-skinned man with silver hair. According to the source material, it never particularly mentioned his skin color, so his reaction to the racist backlash is reasonable.
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Anyway, the casting criticism seems to be grounded in racism rather than a serious appreciation of realism regarding the adaptation’s reference material, and Steve Toussaint handled it correctly. This shows that the character’s skin color was never particularly cited and barely makes any fuss about the story. The actor proudly declares that he achieved the role and puts shade on the critics to mind their own business.
House of the Dragonwill premiere on HBO on 21st August 2022.
