If Matt Smith's latest comments are anything to go by, upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon is going to have a lot of sex scenes.
Game of Thrones was famous for the amount of sex in the show, and for having plenty of 'sexposition', where characters talked about important plot stuff while the camera stared at naked people.
Advert
Ian McShane, who starred on season six of the hit HBO show, described it as 'only t**s and dragons', and while there was a little more to it than that there were plenty of both in Game of Thrones.
As for the spin-off House of the Dragon, it sounds like there were so many sex scenes that Matt Smith questioned whether they really needed to keep adding more in.
Smith plays Daemon Targaryen, brother of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and a major contender for the Iron Throne once his older brother shuffles off his mortal coil to kick off the main plot.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Smith joked that his character had 'slightly too much' sex on the show but insisted that it was important to remain true to the books rather than try to clean things up for modern sensibilities.
Advert
He said: "You do find yourself asking, 'Do we need another sex scene?'.
"And they’re like, 'Yeah, we do'. I guess you have to ask yourself: 'What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we're living in]?'."
"And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written."
However, one area where House of the Dragon will be showing far more restraint than Game of Thrones is around depictions of sexual abuse.
Advert
According to Vanity Fair any sexual violence in the show will occur off-screen, with writer and executive producer Sara Hess explaining that House of the Dragon would still deal with the consequences for the characters but would not show the actual act.
Sexual violence in Game of Thrones was a controversial issue for many fans, who acknowledged that the show did not shy away from their characters being cruel to one another but felt uncomfortable at the depiction.
It seems as though the decision to keep the sexual violence off screen will be good for the actors too.
Ramsay Bolton actor Iwan Rheon said a controversial scene with Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) where his character rapes her on their wedding night was the 'worst day of my career'.
He said that when the time came to film the scene 'nobody wanted to be there'.
Advert
House of the Dragon premieres on Monday 22 August on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW.
Topics: Game of Thrones, TV and Film
Joe Harker