‘House of the Dragon’ Star James Norton on the Irony of Ormund’s [SPOILER], His ‘Oddly Intimate’ Dynamic With Roddy the Ruin and Why His Love for D...

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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “House of the Dragon,” now streaming on HBO Max.

At last, Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton) is no more. And he’s just one of countless casualties

in the “House of the Dragon” Season 3 finale during the climactic fight between the Blacks and the Greens at Tumbleton.

After being stabbed in the ass by Northmen Roddy the Ruin (Tommy Flanagan), Ulf’s (Tom Bennett) dragon suddenly roars in from above and takes them both out in a giant ball of fire. While fans of George R. R. Martin’s book “Fire & Blood” will have expected Roddy’s involvement in Ormund’s death, the dragon was an added and bitterly ironic touch.

“I knew it was going to be a big, delicious death,” Norton tells Variety. “It happens a lot with this show where they push it to the extreme. When they realize where the boundary is, they pull it back a bit. So there was originally a version where Ormund gets impaled like 20 times!”

Norton joined the “House of the Dragon” family this season as the villainous Ormund, the head of House Hightower who is set on overtaking Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) by setting up his ward and cousin, Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), to become the next king of Westeros. Daeron betrays Ormund after being officially knighted by him earlier in the episode, and the two never get a proper goodbye.

“On some level, Ormund would have probably been proud of Daeron for standing up on his own two feet and making that decision,” Norton says. “Obviously, I think he would have probably initially beaten him up to a pulp, and then maybe had the chat afterwards!”

Below, Norton breaks down the “catharsis” of watching Ormund meet his demise, why he feels the character would have been proud of Daeron betraying him, and his “oddly intimate” dynamic with Roddy in their last moments.

Of course, Ormund dies. But it’s notable that the scene is a little different from the book, because now he gets taken out by Ulf’s dragon after Roddy stabs him. What was your experiencing filming your death?

It was a lot of fun! Tommy is a genius, I love working with him. I’ve been a fan of his work for ages. It was a lot of work going into those sequences. This show drills the stunts more than any other show I’ve ever worked on. When you think you’ve finished the stunts and are ready to go, they’re like, “See you next week!” I knew it was going to be a big, delicious death. Before I read the script, there was a lot of chatter around how it was going to happen. I knew it was going to be very different from the books. It happens a lot with this show where they push it to the extreme. When they realize where the boundary is, they pull it back a bit. So there was originally a version where Ormund gets impaled like 20 times, and then we’re like, “That’s probably a little too much!”

Really, the challenge as an actor is forgetting all the playfulness, ambition and tone around it, or even the books and the research and just playing the truth of it. This guy hates smells, blood and gore, so the humor and comedy is in the commitment. If I start to find it funny myself or be aware of the gags, then it sort of falls apart.

I loved the odd intimacy it created between Tommy and I — the idea that we die together, and are preserved. It reminded me of the graves when you find these couples intertwined, these two skeletons. These incongruous people end up dying in the same dragon fire and looking the same way in a strangely intimate sort of pose.

There were loads of moving parts to it. And you forget, when the blood doesn’t land correctly, that means we have to go away, clean the face and hair, go back and clean the costume. I mean, it takes ages. It’s fun and focused. When it works, it’s wonderful filmmaking alchemy.

Do you remember how long it took to get the blood just right on your face?

We had to come back at the end of the day to shoot the end of the fight sequence with the blood on the face. Of course during those big fight sequences like the Tumbleton, which took weeks, we knew that we had to get this piece. It was the last piece of the jigsaw and the sun was setting, wrap was approaching and it’s slightly hit-or-miss to get the blood right. But I do remember it happening quite quickly. I think it was Rowley [Irlam] who was behind camera and it’s not glamorous. He’s there with a plastic bowl of blood and a paintbrush. He actually splatters me like a child — like a Pollock painting. And then if it hits, it hits. I think after two goes, it hit perfectly, thank goodness!

What do you make of Ormund being taken out by Ulf’s dragon and the irony there?

The wonderful thing about Ulf is that everyone disregards him, and he somehow manages to survive like a cockroach. But the very first time Ormund is made aware of Ulf is when Daemon and him confront each other and he says, “How do you feel about being Lord of Oldtown?” Because obviously in that moment, there is already a mockery of Ulf and he’s sort of demeaned as this ludicrous common man who lacks respect. The scene where you don’t see Ormund, apart from Episode 8 when he’s running around and of course loses it and then kicks him to shit — up until that point, to everyone but particularly to Ormund, he’s a Targaryen. He’s got Targaryen blood. He’s a savage in so many different ways; Ormund is fascistic in his hatred of the Targaryens, in his conviction that the Hightowers are the superior. So there’s something really cathartic about watching Ulf — the lowliest, most base, comedic and ludicrous of all the Targaryens and dragonriders — beating him.

It was really debase and demeaning, the moment I pulled him off the loo. He had this prosthetic penis on and it was a very funny day because you give Tom prosthetic penis and it’s obviously going to be very funny. There’s this moment when I kicked him and his robes fell up and you see him naked. Obviously, the same thing happened with Daemon [Matt Smith], and it was very publicly shamed in King’s Landing, and so I could objectively experience the catharsis you feel when someone that horrible and fascistic is then taken down by their supposedly weaker enemy.

Ormund and Daeron don’t get a proper goodbye. We see you knighting him earlier in the episode before he ultimately betrays you. After all that Ormund put Daeron through, how do you feel about where their relationship leaves off?

We got the knighting scene, which is obviously very moving, and then the betrayal happens. So what we don’t get is the confrontation after the betrayal. On some level, Ormund would have probably been proud of Daeron for standing up on his own two feet and making that decision. You know, he’s a military man, soldier and strategist; however misguided that decision was, it was an active decision of note, agency and autonomy. It would have been interesting to see that scene play out. Obviously, I think he would have probably initially beaten him up to a pulp and then maybe had the chat afterwards! Poor old Daeron would have maybe not fared well.

For me, the really important scene was the knighting and how genuine the emotion for Ormund needed to feel. It’s easy for Ormund to love and respect Daeron; it’s harder for Daeron. But then I think it was almost more interesting than Daeron’s relationship with Ormund because there’s a sort of Stockholm Syndrome going on. He has no other parent; he’s a young boy who’s been conditioned and manipulated by this man. But for me, it was easy to look into Daeron’s eyes and just feel love and tenderness. The key thing throughout Ormund’s journey was to anchor him and make him feel human through his love for Daeron. The two key moments are the knighting scene, which needed to be played for total authenticity, and the moment where he finds out that Daeron has betrayed him. We shot various versions of that where Ormund actually cried and got upset before we realized that wasn’t right. Those takes weren’t used and that was a good choice. But again, it just spoke to the humanity that exists in Ormund. However monstrous and villainous he is, cruel and callous and quick to execute the blacksmith — his love for Daeron was real.

Is it supposed to be ambiguous whether Daeron lives or not?

I don’t know, that’s way above my pay grade to know what happens to Daeron! But I do know that Ormund is not coming back. Sadly, there was no ambiguity around him.

How do you feel about saying goodbye to Ormund and all you got to accomplish with him throughout Season 3?

It’s bittersweet. I had a really lovely time. I met some really good people and made friends. I was constantly humbled by the show — the scale, the attention to detail, the work, the craftsmanship. I’ve said this a few times before, but I’ve never been on a show where you’re so aware of other people and other departments doing such good work. You really feel like you have to match their work. Not that you would cut corners in other jobs, but it was more like an empowerment, a lifting of your work. You see the armor that I was wearing, the sword, the quality of the costumes, the makeup.

There’s a very flashy big swing. In a way, Ormund wouldn’t have been so delicious were he to have survived. I don’t think the show would have allowed me to be as brave and courageous and given me such license to be as playful because that type of character can tire, probably. There’s less places for him to go. It was inevitable, I imagine. The way his character was developed and allowed to be big and breathe, taking risks only happened because they knew he was not going to survive. So it was a blessing and a curse. It’ll be weird when they go back to shoot the next season and I won’t be there. But I’m so grateful that I got to come in and have this big showy moment and ludicrous memorable death with Tommy. I’m proud of it.

For more of Variety’s “House of the Dragon” finale coverage, read this recap and story about the press conference with co-creator Ryan Condal and star Emma D’Arcy and this interview with Phia Saban, who plays Helaena Targaryen. This interview has been edited and condensed.