‘House of the Dragon‘ premiered on Sunday, August 21, and met with a mostly positive response. It also drew around 10 million viewers across all platforms in the US, making it the biggest series premiere ever for HBO. But all is not good with its actor Steve Toussaint.
Steve plays the role of Lord Corlys Velaryon in the ‘Game of Thrones‘ prequel show. He has been at the receiving end of some racism from viewers. He recently talked about the issue in an interview. The actor slammed the people who have an issue with the show’s casting of a black person.
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Steve Toussaint Slams Racist Viewers Of ‘House Of The Dragon’
‘House of the Dragon‘ has met with a mostly positive response from critics and a really impressive television rating. Steve Toussaint, who plays Lord Corlys Velaryon aka ‘The Sea Snake’ on the series, has responded to people who took issue with his casting.
In an interview with Men’s Health, Steve said: “It seems to be very hard for people to swallow.” He continued, “They are happy with a dragon flying. They’re happy with white hair and violet-colored eyes, but a rich Black guy? That’s beyond the pale.”
The criticism comes from the assumption that Corlys must be fair-skinned as his ancestors are Valyrian. The color of his hair is described in George R. R. Martin’s book ‘Fire & Blood‘ as ‘Targaryen white-blonde.’
He added, “What has been wonderful is for every toxic person that has somehow found their way into my timeline, there have been so many others who have been so supportive and been like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t wait, this is going to be great! Even when we were doing certain scenes, there would be supporting artists who would come up and go, ‘It’s great to have this representation.”
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Who Is Lord Velaryon And Why Was He Not In ‘Game Of Thrones’?
Lord Corlys Velaryon, played by Steve, is the head of House Velaryon and the most famous seafarer in the entire Westeros.
With Velaryon’s efforts, House Velaryon became a very powerful house and even wealthier than House Lannister. He also heads the most powerful navy in the entire world.
Corlys is married to Princess Rhaenys who is also known as ‘The Queen Who Never Was’. They have two children, Lady Laena Velaryon and Ser Laenor Velaryon. His younger brother Ser Vaemond Velaryon is the commander of his Velaryon navy.
Before his marriage, Corlys was a wanderer and an adventurer. The reason he did not appear in ‘Game of Thrones‘ is that he existed nearly 200 years before the war of the seven kingdoms.
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