If there’s one thing every House of the Dragon fan agrees on, it’s that Paddy Considine‘s glorious performance brought weight and another vision of an apathetic character to George R.R. Martin‘s books. Viserys I, on the pages, is a weak king, oblivious to the consequences of his choices and whose lack of pulse accelerated the process of the civil war that decimated dragons and part of House Targaryen when he died. In the series, however, we saw a good man trying to prevail in a corrupt and toxic universe, a king who died inside when he privileged the succession to the life of his beloved wife, a leader who stood firm in his decision to name his daughter (a woman, oh!) as a future queen and even a brother who suffered from the emotional instability and inconstancy of the one he loved the most. This is all thanks to Paddy, who defended Viserys I viscerally and earned a reign of passionate and faithful fans.

In the UK, Paddy is prized and idolized but still lacked a strong international following. House of the Dragon changed that, however, he has still been ignored at every award show thus far, even if they recognize other names from the cast and series. A traditional injustice in the Game of Thrones universe.

When the original series debuted, its first big star, Peter Dinklage, began to collect awards and accolades, all of which were more than justified. He was nominated eight times for his iconic performance as Tyrion Lannister. Won three.

Without detracting from any of his victories that were celebrated by me, while Peter received recognition for great work, others took time to even the same response, two even also defending House Lannister. Over the 10 years of production, Lena Headey – who kicked ass as Cersei – was nominated no fewer than five times. She took none, not even after of a crushing turn on screen after that ‘Walk of Shame’. Even worse was Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who reminds me a lot of the Paddy Considine case.

Nikolaj made Jamie Lannister a universally admired, beloved-hated hero-antagonist. His interpretation of the anguished character deserved to be nominated since the second season, but only started to make the list in 2018, with two seasons to go. Competing with Peter, he lost both times, creating an injustice in some way.

It was no different from others. Emilia Clarke was nominated four times, three for supporting, while Kit Harington only received two nominations, once for supporting and, in the end, for Lead.

But the most impressive story was that of Alfie Allen. The actor, who broke our hearts with Theon Greyjoy’s legendary performance, was virtually ignored year after year. When the series ended, he paid his own entry fee to be considered. Oops, is it paid?

Well, there is a registration fee to be considered for the nomination, it costs 225 dollars and the actor, who knew he had a chance and deserved it, decided to act alone. It paid off, and he was nominated in 2019. Let’s stress again that being eligible to be nominated may come at a cost, but what landed Alfie on the select final list was his work.

It seems to me unlikely that Paddy Considine‘s case is the same as Alfie’s, behind the scenes, but unfortunately, it’s the same as Nicolaj’s, certainly. Emmy nominations are yet to be announced, but he didn’t make the SAG Awards list, which is always the bellwether. An injustice, but as we know, King Viserys is beloved and iconic thanks to him, we will never forget his brief reign.