House of the Dragon stars call Battle of Gullet 'unlike anything on TV', compare it to Battle of the Bastards| Exclusive

House of the Dragon S3 opens with the Battle of the Gullet, an expansive naval battle. Actors Steve Touissant and Abubakar Salim unpack it for HT.

The world of A Song of Ice and Fire, created by George RR Martin, was known for its politicking in the world of dragons. But even as the focus remained on the schemings and machinations, several legendary battles found mention too. When Game of Thrones’ TV adaptation began, many of these battles made their way onto TV screens, becoming memorable in their own right. Now, House of the Dragon has carried forward that legacy. The new season of the show opens with one such legendary battle - the Battle of Gullet, arguably the biggest naval skirmish in the history of Westeros.

House of the Dragon stars unpack Battle of the Gullet.

As the second episode of season 3 plans to unveil the full extent of the battle, two stars of the show - Steve Touissant and Abubakar Salim - sat down with Hindustan Times to unpack the battle’s scale and how it was created behind the scenes.

Comparisons with Battle of the Bastards are high praise

The Battle of the Gullet sees the fleet of the ‘Sea Snake’ Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Touissant) being attacked by the Triarchy Armada under their admiral Sharako Lohar. The first glimpse of the battle appeared in season 3, episode 1 of House of the Dragon, which aired on Sunday. Talking about where the Battle of the Gullet stands in the hierarchy of battles in TV, actor Abubakar Salim (the show's Alynn of Hull) says, “I do think this is a battle on its own because it is on sea. It is very different to land battles or sky battles. It is its own beast. That’s what makes it really special. Something like this scale has never been seen before on TV.” Steve Touissant, Abu’s on-screen father and commander, agrees. “It’s unprecedented,” he says. “For me, to even mention it in the same sentence as Battle of the Bastards is high praise. That episode still stands out.”

Abu, whose character faces more than just mortal peril in the battle, says a good battle sequence on TV or film works when there is a strong emotional undercurrent. “What stood out for The Battle of the Bastards for me was the emotion. While filming Gullet, I remember talking about how this is the emotion of it. It isn’t just about cold spectacle. How these people are feeling is integral to this moment,” says the actor.

‘Beautifully chaotic’

Battle of the Gullet was filmed on a set with giant replicas of ships, and the crew provided the actors with ambience through water cannons. “It was beautifully chaotic,” says Abu, “There was a lot of preparation and time spent in making this scene and the battle an experience to be remembered. There was a lot of care. But man, it was chaos, organised chaos through and through. I don’t think I have ever experienced anything like that before. It was both magical and terrifying.”

Steve Touissant adds that the challenge in filming such an elaborate sequence was translating what they did in rehearsals into a controlled environment and bringing it to the set. “It was the transition from choreographing it in a gym to going on set and realising the set was much smaller than the gym,” he says with a laugh, “There were lots of bodies on the set, lots of blood and water, and then they were firing water cannons at us as well. Trying to remember where to put your feet amid all that, it was amazing.” The veteran actor also credits the sequence's creation to the show’s stunt coordinator, Rowley Irlam. “If it looks good and it felt we knew what we were doing, it’s down to Rowley and the stunt guys,” he says.

House of the Dragon season 3 airs on HBO and streams on HBO Max. In India, it streams on JioHotstar.