Photo: ATX TV Festival

At the ATX TV Festival, House of the Dragon cast members Steve Toussaint, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, and Abubakar Salim discussed season three of the show and brought yet to be seen footage of the show. Before the opening night event, I talked to cast members Steve Toussaint and Abubakar Salim about their feelings about season 4 being the final season, and the power of exploring legacy, fatherhood, and royalty as Black actors.

We know that season four is the last season. For you as actors and even for your characters, how does it feel to go into season four knowing it’s the last season? 
Is there a kind of a feeling of peace knowing that there is going to be a conclusion to the story, especially with how the industry is these days? It could be the rug could just be pulled at any moment. And there is no ending; each day could be the end.

Abubakar Salim: I’ve got to say, the one thing that I do love about this show, and not being part of it, is the reason why there is gonna be, like, a big time season is because people love it. People love the stories, they love, you know, everything going on. There’s a massive, and that’s like, kudos to, like, the fans and then everyone to that. 
But as an actor, it feels really good. Having come from Raised By Wolves, where that was kind of rug pull, kind of happened to you, and you knew that there was never a story going there. It didn’t, you know, it didn’t finish. 
It was, it was, it feels like half reading a book not being able to know what the ending is. So then now it’s actually have that element there, that conclusion there. It’s so wonderful. 
It’s like reading Hamlet and knowing, like, you know, going through the full end of it and knowing where it’s going. I think there’s a real greatness about a seeing a journey from beginning to end, which I love about TV and, you know, you don’t get that in film. Films don’t stop halfway. 
Can you imagine? So yeah, I think, yeah, there is a peace. Of course, there’s an element of , oh, I would do this forever, if we could, you know, [go on] because there’s always about play. But having that you can never really appreciate something until there is an end, and I think that what’s really cool about this. 
That’s my, again, my answer from my experience of having that rug pulled.

Steve Toussaint: Yeah, I think I would 2nd that. I think there is something nice and neat about knowing that you have a self-contained story. 
This is it. And then that’s the end of it. Yeah, so that’s a joy. As much as you can, you can map your character. To an extent. 
I mean, it’s not entirely true, because I didn’t read the book. I like the idea that it’s contained. I remember there was an interview with Jason Bateman. 
Did you see Ozark?

Salim: Yeah!

Toussaint: So, I saw that show.

Salim: Great show.

Toussaint: When they made the first season, they had no expectations about doing another one. They just went to make one good season. 
And that’s that. And, of course, it was fantastic, and people said, “no, we have to have more,” and they made another good season. But I like that idea of, “This is it, House of the Dragon is four seasons.” 
This is what we do. And in well, in the beginning, there will be a point when you’ll go, oh, right, that story’s done. So I think that’s what I need. 


Salim: And this testament to show on this, truly, the team behind that, to be able to know when is enough. And, like, when are we like, clocking it? Because I think, of course, there is the urge to keep going, right? 
Because if it works, it works, just keep going. But I think, you know, all good stories come to an end, and I think like that is, that’s really, truly what’s really powerful about this. It’s like, you know what you signed up for, you know what you’re going for, and that’s how it’s gonna happen. 
So play with that, you know, enjoy that limitation and play, you know.

For both of you, what I notice about House of the Dragons, to me, it’s even more diverse than Game of Thrones, and maybe this is very much a, begrudgigly American look on things. How is it like to be able to be on the show that your guys are talking about legacy, about fatherhood, and it’s not Black trauma, it’s not about enslavement, even though there is royalty talked about. What’s that like for you as actors?

Salim: It’s like as kids, that doesn’t even come into mind. I’ve got a 3 year old daughter, right? And, you know, whenever she plays make believes, she believes that she can be any princess, anything she wants to be. It’s so beautiful to see that element of play without the weight of the world. And I think that’s what’s so great about this world, Like, we’re all worried about dragons, man. 
We’re more worried about that than any of that kind of play. I think I think that that’s there’s something really cool and freeing and awesome around that. 
That why I love it. 
I think that’s why I really am a massive fan of fantasy and sci-fi. Because it is such a brilliant conduit of dealing with elements that are very human and very sort of relatable to the world that we’re in, but it puts it in a place where it is so removed, that it kind of, it neutralizes, or sort of, yeah, it kind of levels the playing field for anyone who’s taking the story and to see the perspectives and differences of that. You know, I find it very freeing. 


Toussaint: It is freeing, and I think there is, not too good, you know, too deep or political about it, but I think whatever piece of art that you make, whatever program you make or the film you make, it reflects the time you make it. Even if you’re making a film, in between decides to make a film today about the 18th century, it will reflect our values today. There is a reason there is less explicit nudity in our show than there was in say Game of Thrones. 
Game of Thrones was pre Me Too. So that reflects. 
And so, one of the things that I always think about, the any art that I try to do, that I’ve tried to write is, I always want to reflect my world. My world has everybody in it. I’m lucky enough to have friends from every walk of life. 
And so the thing that I like about as House of The Dragon is that it reflects that world. That nobody saw just goes, “Ah, it’s him. He’s a black fellow.” 
He’s just a fellow.

Salim: [Lord Corlys Velaryon] He’s jerk.

Toussaint: Is he good at what he does? 


Salim: [Lord Corlys Velaryon] He’s a bastard.

Toussaint: You know what I mean? And so for all of its faults, and there are many in this world of House of the Dragon, one of the things that I like about it is that you are your values, based on your skill, and on what you use you are to the community. 


Salim: Yeah.

Toussaint: So I like that. And, of course, there are other issues that I like. 
We were literally just talking about it outside, we’re saying that when we did season one, and I did, I would come across Black fans, who were so pleased that I was there, because, they meant that, when they went to the conventions, they had someone they could dress up as. These things become important because they always felt, “We’re not part of this world.” And so a show like this says, well, of course you are. So, in that sense, yeah, it’s an absolute joy to be a part of.

House of The Dragon airs Sundays on HBO.