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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Stuart Jeffries

‘I’m outacted by a nine-year-old’: Matt Smith on House of the Dragon, chaos and child stars

‘It’s the sins of the fathers, isn’t it?’, says Matt Smith in House of the Dragon.
‘It’s the sins of the fathers, isn’t it?’, says Matt Smith in House of the Dragon. Photograph: HBO

Matt Smith keeps trophies from his acting career. He’s particularly proud of the talking Cyberman head from his breakthrough role as the Eleventh Doctor from 2009 to 2013. “I’ve got my costumes tucked away too. I won’t even fit into them now.” I’m disappointed to learn, though, that Smith didn’t keep the fez that led to the best line Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat wrote for him, namely: “Fezzes are cool.” “Fezzes are cool,” Smith deadpans to me now. “That came about because I said it would be good if the Doctor wore a hat, so he kept writing more and more outlandish hats for me to wear.”

Smith’s latest trophy is the sword of Daemon Targaryen, the blond-haired, sadist, misogynist and power-crazed antihero of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which returns this week.

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