House of the Dragon writer is "baffled" fans are thirsting over Matt Smith's Daemon

20 October 2022, 11:14

House of the Dragon’s Fabien Frankel reacts to people hating Ser Criston

By Sam Prance

Daemon is morally corrupt and yet he, his hair and his wig have become the subject of thousands of thirst tweets.

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House of the Dragon writer and executive producer Sara Hess is concerned fans are thirsting over Matt Smith as Daemon.

Ever since House of the Dragon debuted on HBO in August, fans have been divided over the show's cast and characters. It seems that people are either Team Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) or Team Alicent (Olivia Cooke). Then there are characters like Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) who fans fell in love with in the early episodes but have turned on in recent weeks.

One character who has truly split the fandom is Matt Smith's Daemon. Some people are disgusted by him but others have been thirsting over him in spite of the fact that he's murdered his wife, married his niece and routinely causes havoc on those around him. Now, one of the people behind House of the Dragon is questioning why people love Daemon.

House of the Dragon writer is "baffled" fans are thirsting over Matt Smith&squot;s Daemon — House of the Dragon writer is "baffled" fans are thirsting over Matt Smith's Daemon. Picture: HBO / TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy Stock Photo, HBO / Good Banana / Album / Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about people's obsession with Daemon, House of the Dragon's Sara Hess said: "He’s become Internet Boyfriend in a way that baffles me. Not that Matt isn’t incredibly charismatic and wonderful, and he’s incredible in the role. But Daemon himself is… I don’t want him to be my boyfriend!"

Sara continued: "I’m a little baffled how they’re all, 'Oh, daddy!' And I’m just like, 'Really?' How – in what way – was he a good partner, father or brother — to anybody? You got me. He ain’t Paul Rudd."

However, she then added: "I just love the fact people are so involved with these characters, and I think that’s part of the fun of it. One minute you like someone, and the next minute you like someone else. But I’m not surprised."

Praising Matt, she said: "Matt is such a risk-taker in his performances and he’s got that little smile and, you know… you can’t help it! He is charismatic. People love a baddie."

Matt Smith plays Daemon in House of the Dragon. Picture: HBO / LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo

As for Matt, he's described Daemon as "incestuous, volatile and sociopathic" in an interview with Jimmy Fallon. He's also a little baffled as to why people like him in Daemon's long blonde wig. He said: "I'm good from the side, it's quite a lot from the front." He also called the wig "a fucking nightmare" to wear and said that it takes an hour to put on.

What do you think of Matt as Daemon?