A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms isn’t your granddaddy’s Game of Thrones. This is a looser experience… not entirely unlike Ser Duncan’s stool. While George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy books are certainly not lacking in jokes, the HBO series they inspired is often remembered for its brutal twists, betrayals, and a veritable rainbow of deadly weddings. Equally violent prequel spinoff House of the Dragon has done little to soften the Seven Kingdoms’ gritty reputation. Now, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s three “Tales of Dunk and Egg” prequel novellas, is ready to put the author’s humor front and center
“George’s writing is incredibly witty and incredibly funny,” A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parker tells Den of Geek. “A lot of people say [Tales of Dunk and Egg] is funnier than the other stuff and I actually don’t believe that it’s funnier than the main series. It’s funny in a different way. A lot of George’s underdog characters have a very sharp wit. Dunk doesn’t have that to fall back on.”
The lovably dumb Ser Duncan is indeed a powerful tool for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to use in finding a softer side of Westeros. In a franchise known for its moral shades of gray, the lowly hedge knight from Flea Bottom might be the most purely “good” character we’ve met yet. Or at least that’s how his actor sees him.
“That good-hearted nature and moral compass that he has makes it difficult to navigate in a world like Westeros,” Claffey says. “He’s a protagonist who isn’t seeking to sit on the Iron Throne or to be a Lord Commander of anything. He’s just a hedge knight who’s trying to survive and work by the values that were bestowed upon him by Ser Arlan. I think that’s a lovely sort of individual to meet in this world that’s so ruthless.”
Game of Thrones‘ historical roster of complex characters has provided many juicy opportunities for very talented performers over the years. The simple goodness of Dunk, however, presents its own kind of acting challenge. And according to Parker, Claffey’s status as a former-rugby-player-turned-novice-thespian made him a uniquely good fit.
“This is a huge job to take on for any actor of any level and Peter has risen to that challenge and more. I’m just so proud of him,” Parker says. “He’s such a charismatic individual but he’s also just like Dunk. He’s got an inner anxiety about him. When he came into the first meeting he was like ‘my palms are sweating’ and I’m just like ‘this is perfect, this is what we wanted.’”
