Who Is Matt Smith, The Actor Grabbing Eyeballs For 'House Of The Dragon'?

House Of The Dragon, streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, also stars Paddy Considine, Milly Alcock and Emily Carey.

Matt Smith: The actor playing Daemon Targaryen from House of The Dragon.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

HBO's hit series and Game Of Thrones prequel House Of The Dragon has not stopped trending since the first episode raked in a whopping 10 million viewers.

Unarguably, one of pivotal reasons for this buzz is British actor Matt Smith. His powerful portrayal of Daemon Targaryen, King Viserys' mercurial brother, has consistently garnered praise and applause.

Attention towards Daemon's character spiked after the third episode. Towards the end of the episode, Daemon is frustrated at his brother for yet again underestimating him and believing that he is incapable of navigating through a war.

Without exchanging a single word throughout the scene, he puts up a rousing spectacle as he takes on the Crabfeeders and emerges victorious.

Social media was abuzz with praise for the 39-year-old actor after viewers got a chance to watch the third episode. A Twitter user wrote, "Matt Smith is killing this role." while another wrote, "there wouldn't be a better actor to play daemon targaryen than matt smith, he's top-tier".

Here are some more social media reactions:

While Smith is on his way to carve a whole new mark for himself as Daemon Targaryen, his body of work before embarking on House Of The Dragon is also incredibly impressive. With compelling roles like Prince Phillip from The Crown and the titular Doctor from Doctor Who under his belt, it's safe to say that his acting prowess is one-of-a-kind.

Smith embarked on his journey to become an actor in 2003. After several theatre and television gigs, he bagged his first major role in 2007 when he played Danny in the BBC series Party Animals.

He shot to fame when he was cast as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, thus earning him the title of the youngest actor to take on the eccentric role.

While speaking to Indulge at a promotional event for House Of The Dragon, Smith recalled his time on the sets of Doctor Who calling it "an adventure".

"I’m so proud, to this day, to be part of that world. There is a huge amount of pressure that comes with it, just as there is with House of the Dragon, but it’s very rewarding".

MATT SMITH ON DOCTOR WHO

After a string of roles in both film and television, Matt Smith was cast as a younger Prince Philip in 2015 for Netflix' royal drama The Crown. He took on the regal role for the first two seasons of the show and bagged an Emmy nod for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2018).

Speaking to The Guardian in 2017 about portraying Prince Phillip, Smith stated that he "just found a lot to celebrate in Philip." "That’s what I love about him: he’s done what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, with whom he wants. He hasn’t asked permission. And his wife’s the Queen", the actor had said.