House of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel has said he didn’t want his sex scene with Milly Alcock to feel ‘gratuitous’ and admitted it took seven months of planning.
The actor, 28, plays Kingsguard Ser Criston Cole in the Game Of Thrones prequel and his character shares an intimate moment with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Milly, 22.
Speaking about the steamy scene, Fabien said he didn’t want it to feel ‘gratuitous’, saying he wanted it to ‘highlight the realities of sex’, rather than feeling like a movie moment.
Candid: House of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel has said he didn’t want his sex scene with Milly Alcock to feel ‘gratuitous’ and took seven months of planning
He said the scene was discussed for more than seven months to make sure they got it right, adding that they even spoke about how he would remove his armour in a way that felt natural.
He told Entertainment Weekly: ‘The big thing for me was about it not feeling like another gratuitous, sweat-glistening-off-their-back sex scene, ’cause it’s just not like that, anyone who’s ever had sex will tell you sex ain’t that beautiful.
‘It isn’t some picturesque, amazing thing, it’s awkward, especially when you are young.
‘There’s an uncomfortability that one has to sit in, and there’s a discovery and understanding of each other’s bodies – not to mention the practical side of the whole thing.’
Intimate: The actor, 28, plays Kingsguard Ser Criston Cole in the Game Of Thrones prequel and his character shares an intimate moment with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock)
Fabien said he, his co-star Milly and director Clare Kilner exchanged strings of texts and phone calls about the scene to make sure it was exactly as they wanted.
He said they also spoke with the show’s intimacy co-ordinator Miriam Lucia to make sure they were all comfortable and felt safe while shooting the scene.
The intimate moment between Ser Criston and Rhaenyra took place in episode four, after the princess ended up in a brothel with her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith), where the pair shared a kiss.
After Daemon left, 15-year-old Rhaenyra returned to the Red Keep where she bumped into Sir Criston, before stealing his helmet as he stood guard by her door – leading to a steamy moment between the pair.
Honest: Speaking about the steamy scene, Fabien said he didn’t want it to feel ‘gratuitous’, saying he wanted it to ‘highlight the realities of sex’, rather than feeling like a movie moment
It comes after Milly, who plays Rhaenyra, praised Matt Smith, 39, for making her feel comfortable during the brothel scenes, adding that the pair had an intimacy coordinator to help them perform convincingly.
She told the New York Post: ‘No, strangely enough. [Matt Smith and I] were just kind of mates. So, it was quite comfortable. We had an intimacy coordinator, and we worked with her through the rehearsal process and blocked it out months before.’
Milly, 22, had no idea what to expect as director Clare Kilner ensured the first time she set eyes on the brothel location was when she arrived to film her scenes.
She has also spoken out about the experience of filming scenes for the series in a brothel, where she claims extras were in sex positions for up to 12 hours.
Shock! In episode four – before her intimate moment with Fabien – Rhaenyra ends up in a brothel with her uncle Daemon, played by Matt Smith, where the pair share a kiss
Professional: Milly, who plays Rhaenyra, recently praised Matt Smith, 39, for making her feel comfortable during the brothel scenes, saying the pair had an intimacy coordinator
The actress said she felt ‘overdressed’ while recording her scenes in the call house while surrounded totally naked people for a full day.
She said: ‘There were extras who we had just met who were like, 69-ing for 12 hours.
‘It’s pretty gnarly, we felt pretty overdressed because everyone else was nude.’
Elsewhere, her fellow House Of The Dragon star Emily Carey admitted she felt ‘scared’ to shoot sex scenes with her co-star Paddy Considine, who is 30 years older than her.
The actress, 19, stars as Alicent Hightower in the Game Of Thrones prequel series while Paddy, 49, plays King Viserys, who she marries.
Worry: It comes after fellow House Of The Dragon star Emily Carey admitted she felt ‘scared’ to shoot sex scenes with her co-star Paddy Considine who is 30 years older than her
In the latest episode, Alicent is woken in the middle of the night by her maid who says the King has ‘requested her presence’.
In the following scene, she is seen lying still while Viserys has sex with her.
Speaking to Newsweek, Emily admitted she was nervous to film the scene before she met and got to know Paddy.
She said: ‘It scared me because, at that point, I still hadn’t met Paddy. I didn’t know how much of a joy he was and how easy he was going to make the scene.
Plot: The actress, 19, stars as Alicent Hightower in the Game Of Thrones prequel series while Paddy, 49, plays King Viserys, who she marries
‘The first scene that I read from the show was my sex scene and my intimacy scenes. All I saw was, you know, a 47-year-old man and me, I was a bit concerned.’
Emily said she watched Game Of Thrones in preparation from her role and some of the violent sex scenes made her worry about what she would have to do on House Of Dragon.
The actress added that she was comforted by the presence of an intimacy coordinator on set.
She said: ‘Having that outlet, to be able to talk everything through and not be shunned, or not feel awkward. In the rehearsal room, she was a massive help and on set she was a massive help. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.’
Concern: She added: ‘The first scene that I read from the show was my sex scene and my intimacy scenes. All I saw was, you know, a 47-year-old man and me, I was a bit concerned’