House of the Dragon’s Kieran Bew Breaks Down the ‘Massive Gamble’ That Led to Hugh’s Sudden Twist of Fate

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Sunday’s House of the Dragon . Proceed accordingly.

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Is Hugh the blacksmith, previously seen in House of the Dragon petitioning the throne and struggling to feed his family, #TeamBlack’s last, great hope?

Sure seems so after this week’s episode, in which Hugh (played by Kieran Bew) and Ulf (Tom Bennett) survived Rhaeynra’s Red Sowing and realized they were Targaryen bastards with the ability to make dragons do their bidding. (Read a full recap of the episode here , then watch some footage from next week’s season finale here .)

Naturally, we wanted to talk to Bew about his character’s change in station going into the Season 2 finale. Read onto hear the Warrior alum’s talk about Hugh’s motivations (which were definitely different than we thought) and why he thinks Vermithor liked what he saw.

TVLINE | In the episode, Hugh says that he was ashamed of his upbringing, but it turns out to be the thing that could be his ticket to a whole new life. What kinds of feelings does Rhaenyra’s request kick up for him?
BEW | Well, given that there’s this been the war on, and the famine, and the pressures of the smallfolk, the stakes are so high for him having lost his child and he’s in so much pain, the opportunity to actually stand in front of a dragon? Of course it’s do or die. The stakes are absolutely high, and that’s where you find him deciding to impart to his wife. It’s like, “I want to go and do this thing, and obviously it sounds insane.” It’s pushed him to the point where, for the first time, he’s going to reveal to his wife who he really is. He’s never told her, and he has reasons for not telling her. He hasn’t been telling anyone. It’s kind of confession, but it’s also a rousing declaration that “The dice is actually stacked more in my favor than you realized. Actually, I think I can do this.”

… But it is extremely painful to actually reveal that information to her, because part of the reason he hasn’t said it is because of the amount of shame and anger and resentment that’s underneath that — the upbringing that he’s had and the shame about his mom not being able to just be the mom that he loves. Like, he loves her, and he hates that she comes with all this f–king drama and baggage. If he wants to say “This is who I am,” it’s also putting his hand up saying “Yes, I am her son, and yes, she did those things, and yes, that’s who I am.”

TVLINE | Watching the episode, I wondered if he would have made the same choice had his daughter not just died… amid a famine… and being trapped in King’s Landing…
Yeah. And he’s a capable guy. He’s a doer. He’s high up in the blacksmith community. He’s been living a trade… And suddenly this situation presents itself. It’s just that, unfortunately, in order to be able to do that, he has to reveal who he really is. And that means ripping off the band-aid and saying “There’s all this stuff.”

TVLINE | Hugh proves himself a stand-up guy when he draws attention away from the scared woman in the dragon’s cave, saving her. That, to me, felt very much in line with what we know of him so far. How much thought do you think went into that choice, or was it more instinctual for him?
Well, it’s interesting that you say that, because let’s talk about odds. So, this is a massive gamble, and everyone’s going there knowing they’re going to die. And of course, the worst thing happens, and it looks like Vermithor is literally going to have his lunch and then go home. At that point, [Hugh] was trying to survive. And as the people are running around him, on fire and dropping from the ceiling, coming across the girl behind the rock as he’s trying to hide is not what he wants. But it’s interesting you observed that he is a stand-up guy because he waves his arms — because we’re not there to help each other.

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There are a finite number of dragons. There are a lot of people. So, if you’re buying a lottery ticket, do you want everyone to have a ticket? If there can be only one winner, then you need to make sure nobody wins before you. At the very, very beginning, Silver Denys steps forward and gets burned. Everybody is standing in front of this formidable being that they’ve never been this close to before, in fear, and Hugh doesn’t step forward as the first person. So, maybe I already made a mistake, because if somebody else touches that dragon, then how many more dragons are there? How many more chances have I got? So, at that very moment when everyone’s on fire, it’s interesting that you think I saved the girl. [ Grins ]

TVLINE | And I’m interested in the idea that Hugh is capable of that level of strategy when people around him are literally being roasted and eaten like s’mores.
… You don’t know until you’re in a situation how you’re going to react. The truth is, he finds himself behind a rock, and he has somebody next to him, and that person is either a person, or that person is also a dragonrider, or that person is a tool. He is not stupid. You’ve watched the scene, and I’m really, really glad that you read it that I saved the person, because that’s really great. [ Laughs ] And if you watch it again, you might not think that.

I just find it fascinating that people think that people might think because you have a family or because you do something right that… therefore that means that they are either a good person or a bad person.

TVLINE | It’s also possible I’m just looking for people to root for in this complicated moral play that’s unfolding in front of me.
Of course! Otherwise, everybody is reprehensible, and then we have to deal with the fact that: “This person is vile. Why do I like them? What does that say about me?” [ Laughs ]

TVLINE | Exactly. OK, so for whatever reason Hugh did what he did, it worked. Vermithor reacts well, even when Hugh yells, “Come on!” I feel like that poking of the dragon was part of what the animal responded to, right?
Exactly. Totally. I think we discussed it… I think there was a suggestion that Hugh is tentative, and he’s trying to coax this dragon out. I was on set and I said to Loni [Peristere, director] and to Ryan [Condal, showrunner] … “I want to be the dragon. I want to front the dragon.”

…I was like, look we’ve seen The Revenant . We’ve seen these scenarios. I’ve stood in front of live lions. I’ve ridden horses. These things are f–king huge . This is a dragon that’s the size of four houses. You’ve got one chance, so make yourself as big as you can and just tell him — I said, “I just want to say, ‘I’m f–king here! What are you waiting around for?!’”  You know, it’s basically a bit of the dragon. That’s the point. Inside, I think they’re the same. There’s this thing that’s real. Like, all the Targaryens walk around with this idea that they’re sort of godlike, and they’re better than other people. They don’t necessarily understand it, but it’s in there. For so long, Hugh hasn’t acknowledged any of that. He’s been doing something else.

TVLINE | Well, if the show follows the book, he’s about to do a whole lot more of that. The Hugh from the book is a far cry from the Hugh that we’ve met in the show so far.
Well, the Hugh that you find in the book is different people’s second or tertiary historical accounts, and not a fact. The thing is that every person is part of a family. Every person comes from somewhere, and just because that person appears to possibly look like a nice person doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to make good choices or bad choices. That’s why we like stories, because you get to find out and maybe say, “Oh God, yeah now I get it!” I can’t wait to reveal more, because to me, it’s phenomenally exciting. Hard growing up the bastard, you know.

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