Director speaks out on penis shown in graphic House of the Dragon scene

If seeing Ewan Mitchell's penis on your screen knocked you for six during that graphic House of the Dragon scene, don't worry, as you are not alone.

You'd think fans of the fantasy series would be well accustomed to seeing intimate body parts and explicit encounters by this point, seen as though it's a prequel to Game of Thrones, which is a series that really didn't shy away from sex.

But seeing Mitchell's character Aemond Targaryen walking around starkers with his tackle out really managed to surprise a lot of viewers - especially as he didn't rely on any special effects or prosthetics.

The actor, 27, stripped off for a 'vulnerable' scene in the third episode of season two of House of the Dragon, titled ''The Burning Mill', which was set in one of the many brothels of King's Landing.

Aemond's older brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is seen heading inside of the knocking shop with his squires before he awkwardly stumbles across his sibling getting it on with a prostitute.

Aemond had been relaxing in the arms of brothel owner Sylvi before being rudely interrupted, and Aegon begins to tease his brother for his taste in women and apparent intimacy issues.

So, the prince of the Targaryen dynasty bounds to his feet - still butt naked, might I add - and marches out of the room in a strop... without too much thought about his manhood being on full display.

Mitchell said he intended to 'shock' viewers by showing a lot of skin in the shock House of the Dragon scene.

Speaking to Vulture, the Saltburn star explained that he was able to wear as much, or in this case as little, as he felt comfortable with.

Ewan Mitchell, 27, was au naturel in the nude scene (HBO Entertainment)

He said: "Scenes like this start with a conversation about how far you’re prepared to go. It wasn’t a choice we made lightly. But it’s true to Aemond that he shocks the audience. Weakness is not part of Aemond’s vocabulary."

Director Geeta Patel praised Mitchell for his dedication to his character and being willing to push the boat out with his performance, while explaining why him showing his penis was so important.

She told the publication: "Ewan is such a great actor. He understands what he needs to do in order to portray Aemond. "When I spoke with him originally about the nudity, I said to him, ‘Let’s just go through the story. If you don’t feel comfortable being nude, then you’re not going to be nude.’ We were both on the same page.

"That shift, from someone who’s vulnerable to literally watching him put on his armour, was what we were going for. It’s one of the few times you see the young child in him and you see the pain in him.

"Slowly he starts putting on his armour and when he stands up, the fact that he doesn’t care that you see his penis is such a strong visceral shift."

Aemond had been in the brothel before his brother interrupted him (HBO Entertainment)

Patel then confirmed the actor was au naturel in the scene and wasn't relying on prosthetics.

She added: "What we came to is that Aemond was hurt. He was bullied when he was little. Since he was hurt, he had created this persona that was the exact opposite of how he was feeling.

"He created the persona of someone who is callous and has no regard for what others think of him.

"Slowly he starts putting on his armour and when he stands up, the fact that he doesn’t care that you see his penis is such a strong visceral shift.

"Ewan was like, ‘I want to be fully nude in that moment. It’s important to me because that’s who my character is. That’s what he would do.’ And that’s what we did."

Mitchell said he saw a 'brilliant opportunity to offer a rare glimpse of his [character's] vulnerability' when he first read the script detailing the scene.