By As fans eagerly await the season finale of House of the Dragon, HBO’s first prequel series in the growing franchise that started with Game of Thrones, a second spinoff has kicked off production in Northern Ireland. Filming began in June, and HBO quickly took the news to Variety along with a first look image of star Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall, better known as Dunk. Since then, filming has progressed in Northern Ireland both in studio and on location. Today, we can report that the HBO production has set up shop in Glenarm Castle, which will serve as the season’s main location: Ashford Meadow.
Night-time filming at Glenarm Castle
Glernarm Castle is a castle in Northern Ireland, which will be used in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms for scenes set in Ashford Meadow, the main setting of Season 1 of the HBO series. Ashford Meadow will be the setting of a great tourney, where knights from every corner of the Seven Kingdoms will converge to fight for the glory of their House.
One of these knights will be Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall (Peter Claffey), and he will be joined by his young squire Aegon “Egg” Targaryen (Dexter Sol Ansell). Many other knights and lords will be present for the tourney, and in a very Thrones-like fashion, other drama will ensue and entangle our two heroes throughout the season’s six episodes.
Since Ashford Meadow is the key setting of the season, that would suggest that Glenarm Castle could be a key location during filming. So far, the HBO production has set up shop and begun to film a series of nightshoots.
Complementary filming in studio sets will also occur, and it is likely that all the tourney scenes will be filmed in a set built in the studio (and away from the cameras of fans and locals). Besides the historic castle, Glenarm also has a beautiful garden and outskirts which the show may utilize during filming.
The official website of Northern Ireland tourism describes Glenarm Castle as follows: “Nestled in the natural beauty of the Glens of Antrim, you’ll find the ancestral home of the McDonnell family, Earls of Antrim, and one of Northern Ireland’s most historic family houses. With over 500 years of history and heritage, the McDonnells are also descended from the ancient Kings of Dalriada, while Glenarm Castle itself was built by Randal McDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim in 1636.”
Three actors seemingly join the cast
In addition to the news of filming in Glenarm Castle, Redanian Intelligence has identified three actors who have likely joined the cast of the HBO series. Their casting is not yet confirmed and we don’t know their roles, but we have good reason to believe they have been on set for filming.
The suspected actors are listed below:
- Danny Collins is an actor, singer, and dancer. Collins best known project was the infamous Cats film, and he has had several roles after that. Due to his unique talents, it’s possible that Collins will portray a performer of sorts who has come to entertain the nobles during the tourney.
- Youssef Kerkour is an experienced actor who has appeared in films such as Napoleon and House of Gucci, as well as shows such as Home, Stay Close, and Nightflyers (an adaptation of another of George R.R. Martin’s books). Kerkour is also an accomplished voice actor who has played roles in video games such as Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
- LJ Bennion is a young actor who has recently kicked off his career with a role in the television series Heartstopper and Feel Good.
These actors will likely join a growing list of confirmed cast members, which you can check out in the article linked below, along with a recap of everything else we know about the second Game of Thrones prequel.
RELATED ARTICLE: Everything We Know About ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
As always, we will follow the filming of A Knight of the Seven Kingdom as closely as we can, so expect more casting news and behind-the-scenes details in the coming months.
Where you can find us:
