One of the ways that House of the Dragon differs itself from its predecessor is through a more diverse cast. For instance, a black actor, Steve Toussaint, plays Corly Velaryon, aka the Seas Snake, which has a ripple effect through the rest of his bloodline on the show. According to co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal during an interview for TheGrill, there were multiple reasons for that decision and it wasn’t simply for the sake of a cheap gimmick.
“I think the reason that it’s been a successful choice, frankly – I mean, not everybody’s ever going to be happy – the reason it was successful is because it was thought out, it wasn’t just done perfunctorily or wasn’t just done to tick a box or to be seen as progressive or to be seen as somebody that’s covering all the bases or anything like that.”
Condal went on to say that right now, we’re in a different era than the shows that used to be made. They also have an incredibly diverse audience not only across America but in multiple countries as well. They speak all sorts of different languages and represent all sorts of colors under the sun. Condal said it was really important to see that reflected on the screen.
“This is a fantasy world. I think if this was a historical fiction piece, it’d be a more nuanced discussion. But I think simply because of the fantasy world, if we believe in dragons, and shapeshifters and direwolves, we can believe everybody in the story is not white.”
Why the Velaryons, Though?
They went with House Velaryon out of all the Houses was because they felt like they were the most fantastical race in the show. Condal said it felt like these were people from a lost continent that we don’t really know that much about. Beyond how they all have silver hair, an affinity for dragons, and are, as quoted in the book and the show, closer to gods than they are to men.
“So what does that all look like? It always stuck with me, this article where George had talked about when he set out to write these books, considering making all of the Velaryons Black, and Black people with silver hair, that always really stuck with me as an image.”
Another reason is the time period the show is set in. Valyria, where the Velaryons hail from, was this enormous continent, a very diverse and well-populated nation, so it would make sense for there to have been a line of Black Velaryons in the story. And in a time that still isn’t that far removed from the fall of Valyria, it wouldn’t be unbelievable for that line to still exist.
“To me, I mean, I don’t even really think about it anymore. There are so many Valerians in the show, having the Velaryon family, having the Sea Snake’s family, look different than the Targaryens is actually really helpful in the casting and in differentiating people on screen and remembering who’s from what house and maybe making it even clearer that Rhaenyra has children of questionable parentage.”