No./2 From the West Midlands to Westeros
Birmingham-born actor Steve Toussaint on his role in Game Of Thrones spin-off HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, the culmination of a prolific 30-year career
Steve Toussaint is glad that he never bagged a role in Game Of Thrones. At one point, it seemed like every British actor alive had snagged a supporting role on HBO’S blockbuster fantasy, and sure enough Toussaint, a fan of the show, had tried and failed to book a gig. “But it never happened,” he says now. “I’m very happy I didn’t get those other parts.”
The Seven Gods — or fate — had other ideas. Toussaint has since landed a plum role on the much-anticipated spin-off prequel show
House Of The Dragon, not as a day player but as Corlys Velaryon, the lord of a noble house of Westeros. “He’s basically the richest man in the land,” Toussaint explains. “He’s called the Sea Snake, because he is this great sailor who did the ‘Nine Voyages’, which is how he made his fortune. It’s a great thing to be so integral. I’m blessed.”
For Toussaint, it is among the biggest roles of a three-decade career in film, television and theatre, during which time he has racked up over 70 screen credits (“Oh my God… even I didn’t realise it was that many,” Toussaint says, when
Empire mentions this) and worked on practically every major British TV institution, from Line Of Duty to Holby City to Midsomer Murders.
In the last year alone, he has guest-starred in an episode of Doctor Who, popped up on Russell T Davies’ acclaimed drama It’s A Sin, and appeared in the Red, White And Blue film of Steve Mcqueen’s Small Axe strand, as the father of police officer Leroy Logan, played by John Boyega (“the crème de la crème”, as Toussaint describes him).
Set in the early ’80s, Red, White And Blue was a story that felt personal to Toussaint. “This is a period when Leroy was about 18,” he says. “I would have been about 16. So I remember this period very well — living in a society that’s hostile to us, and parents who always seemed to be incredibly stern. They were gearing us up for the hard knocks of being children of immigrants in what appeared to be an unwelcoming society.”
That performance drew huge acclaim; the House Of The Dragon casting news was announced a couple months later. Filming is currently underway in the UK, and Toussaint is inevitably tight-lipped about it, but promises a season about “political intrigue and plotting”, similar to the original show’s debut season. “We come to Westeros in a time of peace,” he says. “But hey, this is Game Of Thrones, after all. And [the Sea Snake] is one of the few people experienced in warfare. That will hopefully keep him in good stead.”
Life expectancy in Westeros is famously short, of course — “I don’t even know if
I make it to the end of this season!” Toussaint admits — but if House Of The Dragon has the longevity of its mother show, he’s up for sticking around. “I’m really enjoying it. The idea of doing more than one season is very attractive.” The Seven Gods — or HBO — will ultimately decide. But expect to hear Steve Toussaint’s name more loudly than ever.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON IS DUE TO AIR IN 2022