For three episodes, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ played a quiet game with its audience. Egg was merely a raggedy, rough-tongued, bald-headed, poor, and historically insignificant kid until episode 3 ripped the curtain.
Dexter Sol Ansell, the 11-year-old actor behind the role, is finally free to talk about the secret fans of George R. R. Martin’s novellas have known all along. Egg isn’t just Egg. He is Aegon Targaryen, a prince in exile, younger brother to the cruel Aerion, and the future king of Westeros. And yes, that makes him a dragon.
Dexter Sol Ansell Confirms What Readers Have Known About Egg All Along
The episode, aptly named The Squire, leads to the climax of the mystery when Dunk intervenes to save a group of puppeteers from Prince Aerion. As Dunk is about to be executed, Egg is left with no option but to disclose his real identity: he is the son of Prince Maekar and a member of House Targaryen. To Ansell, the unveiling was thrilling, although he did not necessarily understand its cultural significance initially.
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“When I found out I was a Targaryen, I was like, ‘What’s a Targaryen?’” he told EW. Having never watched ‘Game of Thrones‘, the significance only clicked once his parents filled him in. “They were way more excited than me. They were like, ‘You’re royalty!’”
Still, once it sank in, the thrill followed, and it’s adorable. “It feels cool. Feels like I’m a dragon. I just wanna jump out my window and go ‘wee!’ and breathe fire. Yeah, it feels exciting to be a Targaryen. I mean, I don’t know much about Game of Thrones because I’ve never watched it, but I think Targaryen’s the best house, in my opinion,” Ansell said, evidently pleased at the thought.
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Ansell also talked about becoming close to Finn Bennett, who portrays Aerion, behind the scenes. To sell the brotherly tension on screen, the two often played chess between takes, building a rapport that helped ground their volatile dynamic.
Ansell also remembers the night shoot as the big reveal, a long, emotional scene, but with a very 11-year-old detail: gummy worms. “She’s telling me all these notes to do in the scene, and then I’m like, ‘I think I need a gummy worm,’” Ansell recalled.
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The candy was served to maintain the mood when the film was being shot late in the night. It’s a reminder that behind the royal lineages and the rough politics, this is still a young actor having a career-defining moment.
The fact that Egg was not just a squire, but a prince in disguise, redefines all that the viewers believed about him. And although Ansell did not grow up in Westeros, he is now a full-fledged member of its heritage, shaved head, secret crown, and all.
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