A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Co-Stars Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell Built Up Relationship Through Arcade Games

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Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a Game of Thrones series that focuses on fewer characters. The crux of the story follows Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight played by Peter Claffey, who travels around Westeros with his squire, Egg, played by Dexter Sol Ansell. The HBO series has already been renewed for a second season, with plans for a third in place. Helmed by showrunner Ira Parker, it was essential that the series get its casting right. Claffey revealed how he knew from his chemistry reading that Sol Ansell was more than just a child actor. The co-stars revealed how they continued to grow closer by spending time at arcades playing games together.

Peter Claffey calls young co-star Dexter Sol Ansell ‘mature little man’

At a press conference for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ahead of the release of the show, which was attended by Zoom, Claffey revealed that his last audition was with Sol Ansell in London. He was aware that he would be acting with a child, but he soon realised how serious the then-nine-year-old Sol Ansell was.

He recalled, “The illusion of an immature kid dissipates very quickly. Dexter is such an impressive, mature little man. It feels like you're working with an actor that's been in the industry for 50 years. He's incredibly mature. I was so impressed at how he was able to take notes from Owen, our first block director and Ira [Parker]. I didn't have to be that man in the middle to try help with relaying information. He's got an incredibly bright future ahead of him. We were really lucky to have about two months of preparation before we got into shooting and spent a lot of time together [at] the arcades in Belfast.

Peter Claffey on making a new friend with Dexter Sol Ansell

The two months also included combat training with stunt coordinators and horse riding. The older actor shared that they developed a good relationship over that time.

Claffey said, “I am so glad to be his friend now. I'm very close with him and his family, and they're really good, lovely people. I think those two months could have been quite nerve-racking. You don't know what the relationship's going to be like, and there's so much importance placed on the relationship, and something clicked in that chemistry read, and we haven't looked back since.”

Dexter Sol Ansell boasts he is better at Mario Kart

When asked by showrunner Parker about who was better at Mario Kart, Sol Ansell claimed it was him over Claffey’s protestations. The young actor confirmed their two-month bonding experience and added, “Like Ira was saying, we're like brothers, not only like our characters, but in real life. And from the first audition, we just clicked, and then we just hung out, from going out to partying at my place.”

His co-star joked, “And then the casino and the nightclubs and everything, it's awesome.” A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms streams weekly on Mondays on JioHotstar. The last episode of the six-part will be released on February 23.