Paddy Considine reckons Viserys is the best character he’s ever played

Paddy Considine believes Viserys Targaryen is the ‘greatest’ character he’s ever played.

While the actor has had an impressive career spanning 23 years, the Brit revealed that the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms is by far his best role yet.

During an interview on The Adam Buxton Podcast, Considine said: “The King Viserys character in House of the Dragon, I think that’s probably the greatest character I’ve ever played in my eyes.

"The story was right. The character was right."

The 49-year-old also shared how he struggled to watch the final episode when the King’s leprosy condition became dire.

The actor revealed his father died of cancer a couple of years ago and the King’s declining health brought back painful memories for him.

He said: "I didn’t watch episode eight but my wife had watched it, and my daughter, and they were pretty upset with it. My wife said, 'Just watch the end’. Years ago, I’d watched my dad die of cancer and he just went downhill rapidly from being diagnosed to being on death's door.”

As his father became ‘skeletal so rapidly’, the actor couldn’t help but draw a comparison.

Considine added: “I just burst into tears because I looked the image of my dad when he was dying, the image of him, and it was shocking.

“It was really, really shocking to me. I’d put so much of my mum’s characteristics into this character, Viserys, but when I saw that I thought 'That’s my dad' and it was terrifying.”

Since the series debuted in August, fans have been raving about Considine’s performance, with many vouching for the actor to win an Emmy.

Collider’s Jessie Nguyen shared: “Considine's performance throughout the series is Emmy-caliber, and that's not an understatement. His talent isn't contained in a single scene, but rather in several small moments that add up to the overall impression of a loving, caring, generous, and suffering monarch.”

Earlier this year, George R.R Martin also took to his blog to share his thoughts on the show’s actors.

While he showered the entire cast with compliments, it was clear he had a favourite.

He wrote: "Paddy deserves an Emmy for this episode alone. If he doesn’t get one, hey, there’s no justice."

Martin added: "The character he created (with Ryan and Sara and Ti and the rest of our writers) for the show is so much more powerful and tragic and fully-fleshed than my own version in Fire & Blood that I am half tempted to go back and rip up those chapters and rewrite the whole history of his reign."