The halls of the Empire Stage at New York Comic Con (NYCC) were electrified on Thursday as HBO dropped the official teaser for the highly anticipated new series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The series, set a century before Game of Thrones and based on George R.R. Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” novellas, follows the adventures of the towering, naïve Ser Duncan the Tall (Dunk), played by Peter Claffey, and his diminutive, future-king squire, Egg, played by Dexter Sol Ansell.
Dexter Sol Ansell and Peter Claffey Interview at New York Comic Con
The new original half-hour drama series is based on the beloved “Tales of Dunk and Egg” novellas by George R.R. Martin and is set a century before the events of Game of Thrones. It follows the endearing adventures of an unlikely duo: a young, naive, but courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall (played by Peter Claffey), and his diminutive squire, Egg (played by Dexter Sol Ansell). Moreover, their journey takes place in an age when the Targaryen dynasty still reigns supreme and the memory of the last dragon remains fresh in living memory.
A Scene-Stealing Moment of Improv
Following the trailer reveal, the show’s stars offered a glimpse behind the scenes, discussing the alchemy of their on-screen partnership and how much freedom they had with the rich dialogue. When a journalist asked the duo about the great on-screen chemistry between Dunk and Egg and whether they got to improvise any moments, Dexter Sol Ansell (Egg) enthusiastically confirmed that they did.
“We did improvise. They said, ‘Right, just have fun,'” Ansell shared. He and Claffey recalled that the moment came “during the lists,” and the direction was simply, “Just improvise. Try and pretend to be each other.”
For Ansell, the spontaneous result was unforgettable. “This scene, it was probably one of the best scenes in the whole entire thing,” he stated, adding that the improvised lines “sounded just like someone’s just wrote in it and that was amazing what we did.”
Balancing Iconic Dialogue with Freedom
While the freedom to play around led to a favorite scene, Peter Claffey (Dunk) emphasized that the vast majority of their performance was highly faithful to the source material and scripts.
“The thing about it was it was very true to the script because they’re so well written and the book has these iconic pieces of dialogue,” Claffey explained. He admitted that while he normally loves “to have freedom with dialogue and be able to throw things in,” he understood the gravity of adapting George R. R. Martin’s work. “I was like, ‘I need to be on the point here, of this has to be word-for-word.'”
However, Claffey was pleasantly surprised by the creative balance struck by the production team. He noted that the director, Ira, was open to small changes, offering a “perfect balance of like stick to the script and throw in a bit of what you think as well.” Ultimately, the priority remained the script. “But more script, I would say. More script,” Claffey concluded with a laugh.
The blend of faithful adaptation and the actors’ spontaneous chemistry promises to bring the beloved tales of Dunk and Egg to life in a way that both honors the foundation of Westeros and captures the endearing, often funny, relationship between the hedge knight and his squire.
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