Welsh Landscape Sets the Scene for House of the Dragon
The Welsh landscape has been described as an ideal setting for filming parts of the new series of House of the Dragon, naturally evoking a "dragons-esque feeling," according to actor Freddie Fox.
Fox spent time filming among the "extraordinarily beautiful mountains" of north Wales for the third series of the Game of Thrones prequel, which resumed airing on HBO on Sunday.
Last summer, the cast and crew returned to Wales to shoot scenes at various locations across Anglesey, Conwy, and Gwynedd.
Filming locations included Beaumaris Pier on Anglesey, Craig Yr Undeb (Union Rock) in Gwynedd, and Ffynon Llugwy, a lake situated in Eryri National Park, also known as Snowdonia.
Mythical Atmosphere of Eryri's Slate Mines
Fox highlighted that even the former slate mines in Eryri possess a "storybook" ambiance.
"They have this kind of mythical... suitably dragons-esque feeling to them," he told Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales.
"You feel like you're in a kind of storybook - it's the stuff of legend. I love filming there. I was over-awed on set more or less every day."
Role and Co-Star Reflections
Fox portrays the knight Ser Gwayne Hightower, son of Ser Otto Hightower, a character played by Welsh actor Rhys Ifans. Despite this connection, Fox expressed disappointment that he did not share any scenes with Ifans, whose character was formerly known as the Hand of the King.
"It literally breaks my heart because he's an actor I have admired all my life."
He further described Ifans as playful and known for attempting to distract fellow actors during filming.
"He is famously naughty and so all I wanted to do is try and be on set with him but, unfortunately, I've had to sort of live on the anecdotes of the other actors."
Theatre Work and Cardiff Experience
In addition to his television work, Fox is starring in Cole Porter's musical High Society, which will be performed in Cardiff this July as part of a UK tour.
He noted that although he had never performed theatre in the Welsh capital before, he was familiar with the city from filming at Wolf Studios, which he described as "just amazing."
"It's huge. It's like being in Hollywood," he said.
