Rising star Fabien Frankel has opened up about how crew had to hand-feed him on the set of HBO's House of the Dragon.
Frankel, 28, plays the controversial Ser Criston Cole, knight of the Kingsguard, in the Game of Thrones spin-off.
In his role as the knight, Frankel had to don heavy armor and was not allowed to take off the rigid body plate while on set.
"It's quite heavy, I mean it got less heavy as time went on," the actor told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
"You had a breastplate, which protects your neck and top of your chest, but you couldn't remove it."
Frankel described sitting like a "zombie" when he wasn't filming. It was so restricting he couldn't even feed himself.
"I had to sit like a zombie and have people feed like I was sick," he said.
Fallon then shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Frankel awkwardly snoozing in a chair between takes.
The photo was snapped by his co-star Milly Alcock, who plays the young Rhaenyra Targaryen.
"I'm a really ugly sleeper," he joked, before revealing he had no idea he'd been snapped "until she [Alcock] put it on social media."
Starring as Ser Criston is a breakout role for Frankel, who studied drama at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
He got his start in London theater before landing a role in the romantic comedy Last Christmas, which starred GOT alum Emilia Clarke.
Frankel starred opposite Doctor Who actress Jenna Coleman in Netflix's The Serpent and will soon be seen in indie drama Venice At Dawn.
His character on House of the Dragon was recently embroiled in controversy after fans accused the show's creators of an anti-gay trope.
Ser Criston was seen savagely assaulting Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod) in one of the series' most brutal murder scenes.
The knight became enraged when his lover, Rhaenyra, refused to run away with him and agreed to marry her cousin Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate).
Unbeknownst to Ser Criston, the two men were lovers. Joffrey approached the knight with a proposal to work together as their betrothed lovers' partners, even after they wed.
Joffrey tried to convince Ser Criston that arrangement would ensure they could still remain close to their loved ones and protect them at the same time, while Laenor and Rhaenyra served their duty to the Iron Throne.
But Ser Criston was having none of it and attacked Joffrey mercilessly, beating him into a bloody pulp until he died.
Fan watching at home were enraged at the murder and accused producers of relying on a trope known as 'Bury Your Gays.'
The trope sees LGBTQ characters killed off at a much higher rate because they are seen as more expendable.
It is also problematic because there is often not many LGBTQ characters and killing them off removes their representation.
Ser Criston is of Dornish descent and the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven.
He has no claim to land or titles, only his name and his preternatural skill with a sword, according to HBO.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
