The tragedy at the center of HBO’s “House of the Dragon” is the decline of King Viserys Targaryen, who, over the first season’s 20-year timeline, is plagued by a vicious disease that actor Paddy Considine called a “a form of leprosy.”
Viserys’ illness is first signaled with a small sore on his back in the opening episode. “[The sore was] something which needed to look infective and livid, as if it was the start of something,” Gower told Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay. “Because this was the start of the story.”
For makeup designer Amanda Knight and prosthetics designer Barrie Gower, the creation of a debilitating Paddy Considine required great collaboration. “The whole Viserys character, his journey, was this incredible experience across all the departments of makeup, hair, prosthetics and visual effects,” said Gower.
Knight reveals that Viserys showcased “five different stages” of looks that portrayed his worsening condition. “The first really extensive stage was Episode 7,” said Gower. “It was completely impractical makeup.”
To accomplish his clearly degenerative final form in the series, the crafts experts recruited the help of the visual effects team. “We knew immediately that the visual effects would have to help us,” said Knight.
Gower’s team employed the use of 3D technology to collaborate with VFX artists. Ahead of production, a 3D scan of Considine’s head and shoulders was taken, in addition to “a traditional life cast” that was transformed into a silicone model of his face. The prosthetics team was then able to design Viserys’ imperfections onto a “head on a stick” model used throughout production.
“We gave [the head] to the VFX team so that they had texture and color to reference,” said Gower. “We were able to hold [the head] next to Paddy to see what these forms would look like in the same lighting.”
Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” is currently in production.
Watch the full conversation above. Variety’s Artisans is presented by HBO.
