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‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Daniel Ings on What George R.R. Martin Teased About Lyonel Baratheon’s Future
After six weeks at the tourney at Ashford Meadow, it’s finally time for Dunk (Peter Claffey) and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) to move on. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms wrapped up its first season tonight with a funeral and the beginning of a new chapter for our heroes. Coming in after the violent Trial of Seven, which ultimately saw Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) losing to Dunk, the finale focuses primarily on the aftermath and what happens now that Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), the crowned prince, is dead. With the tourney winding down, Dunk is offered an opportunity by Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) to return with him to Storm’s End. The scene not only reveals Dunk’s immense guilt for what happened to Baelor but also Lyonel’s deep disdain for the Targaryens, reminding us of the intrinsic rivalry between the two houses.
We spoke with Daniel Ings about his role in the newest Game of Thrones spin-off. Ings discussed how he harnessed Lyonel’s braggadocious attitude and what it took for him to portray a monumental character like Lyonel Baratheon. He discusses the Trial of Seven and where he thinks Lyonel gets his deep hate for the Targaryens from in the finale. He reveals conversations he had with showrunner Ira Parker about the character, as well as author George R.R. Martin, who teased Lyonel’s potential return in the future. For those who know the story, it’s a hopeful indication that we might see Ings again, though likely in the distant future should the series continue past three seasons.
Daniel Ings on How He Harnessed Lyonel Baratheon’s Attitude
“Yeah, I feel like there’s definitely a side to me that can be bombastic and in your face.”
COLLIDER: Your character, Lyonel Baratheon, is many things. He’s a singer, he’s a dancer, he’s a fighter, he’s got it all. He’s such a bombastic and bold character. Was that a role that came naturally to you, or was that something that you had to work on? Because his personality is very much in your face when you first meet him.
DANIEL INGS: I guess it did kind of come naturally. Yeah, I feel like there’s definitely a side to me that can be bombastic and in your face. It’s definitely something that I’m comfortable tapping into, and I enjoy that, particularly with dancing. Dancing was something that I used to be very self conscious about. And then when I was younger, that was a sort of choice, like a switch that I made to just choose not to be anymore. And me and my buddies used to do ironic dancing, that was my way in. We’d call it “ironic dancing,” particularly after Zoolander came out; we did dance-offs in the middle of some dance floor somewhere. At a certain point, I was like, actually, maybe I don’t need to do this ironically anymore, maybe I just enjoy this.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Stars React to Dunk’s “Cinematic” Trial of 7 and Egg’s Guilt
The season finale for the six-episode series set in Westeros airs on HBO on Sunday, February 22nd.
I love that.
INGS: Yeah, fine. Fuck it, you know? I feel like I enjoy dance. I can’t sing, unfortunately. I’m a horrible singer. But again, I increasingly don’t really care that I’m not very good at it. You know what I mean?
To be fair, in the scene where you sing in the show, your character is drunk, so he doesn’t really need to be a great singer in that moment.
INGS: Exactly, I think, to that end, with all of those elements, this is a guy who, in a way, he doesn’t need to be able to do those things. He just needs to not care what anybody thinks, that’s the crucial thing. And that’s kind of liberating, if you can just let it go and to get to play someone who doesn’t really give a shit what people think, it means your focus doesn’t have to be on, technically, whether it’s good, it just has to be fun.
I think that came off perfectly. He definitely has, a sort of “I don’t give a fuck” energy, which I think everybody appreciates.
INGS: [laughs]
Daniel Ings Reveals a Behind-the-Scenes Moment With Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell
“Everyone was aware to protect this little dude because he is physically little, if more grown up than the rest of us.”
When you’re getting into the realm of Game of Thrones, you’re already toeing the line with what is appropriate for a kid to be exposed to. What was it like filming with Dexter [Sol Ansell] and seeing him work as a young actor?
INGS: He’s an incredibly clever and switched-on young guy. It’s really super easy to forget how young he is. He’s much smarter than me and has an incredible work ethic. He would quite happily be like, “Oh, your cup’s in the wrong hand there. You had it in the other hand. You switch it on this line.” It’s so easy to forget how young he is. He’s a really sort of fun and confident young man, incredibly impressive and much smarter than the rest of us, much like his character. So in a way, it was super easy. And also, he’s incredibly experienced, like — I think he’s 11 now — he was nine when we shot it. He’s done more stuff than any of the rest of us put together.
You’re conscious of it, although a lot of the stuff that I got to do with Dexter was pretty fun, like we were out there doing the tug of war. He did bang his head at one point because we were all doing celebrations, and Peter’s throwing him up in the air. And I remember, there was one day he hurt himself quite badly, I think he banged his head on Peter’s shoulder. And I had no idea that this had happened, and I come running in, ready to, like, jump on the two of them. And Peter, bless him, was like, “No! No! No! No!” So, everyone was aware to protect this little dude because he is physically little, if more grown up than the rest of us.
Daniel Ings Gets Into What It Was Like Filming Those Action Scenes in Armor
“…that sort of energy that you see in the Baratheon tent is replicated out on the field.”
There’s a lot of physicality that comes into playing this character, I can only imagine what it’s like having to wear the armor and that giant crown. What was it like preparing for those action scenes?
INGS: The action stuff, I have to give credit to the stunt guys, because they did so much of it. Once you see that big jousting sequence and the Trial of Seven, it’s so physically demanding, what’s expected of these characters, and the way that they shoot it. It would have been shit if I tried to do a load of that stuff. I did a fair bit of riding in it, and I’d done some riding before, so it was a little bit of training for that. We did some fight training, which, again, I’ve done a bit of before, but it’s always fun to brush up on that. The thing that I wanted to focus on with all of that was the fluidity of it, because this guy is an amazing warrior, but he’s also someone who takes great pleasure in the performance of being in that arena. Do you know what I mean? In the sport of it. He’s obsessed with the sport of it, and so, much like with the dancing, most of the preparation was around trying to make sure that, even with the stunt team, there was a kind of fluid and florid movement style with this character, that sort of energy that you see in the Baratheon tent is replicated out on the field.
To be honest, it was pretty tough. The helmet, which I wear at the end, which is incredible, and I fucking loved it, but it’s so hard. There was so many sequences where I wanted to show that he is this guy who is so excited and just delighted to be there, where everyone else is shitting themselves. He’s just like, “This is amazing!” This is his 50-year storm, and then to see the switch into mad dog as he pulls the helmet on. We did so many takes of it, because that thing… I’d put it on, and then we’d finish the take with, like, seven of us in a line, and it’s just flopping over to one side.
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They should have kept that in. I feel like that would be kind of funny.
INGS: Yeah, he’s the Laughing Storm, like he doesn’t give a shit! So that was a lot of the preparation, and I mean, you can’t really tell, but I tried to kind of hit the weights beforehand, because I knew that this was going to be a physical job…
You were shirtless in one of those scenes. So maybe that helped the confidence levels there if it was intimidating?
INGS: [Laughs] Fuck it, yeah. Exactly. I mean, I’m not massively a gym guy, but, again, the thing about the Laughing Storm is, in the books there’s a big focus on his physicality. He’s a giant, and he’s physically imposing. But I think for for me, and for Ira [Parker], our showrunner, like, I think he would have loved it. He did say to me, at one point, he was like, “Can you just start eating bagels? I just wanted you to get like fat, like big.” But I just lost a ton of weight a year or two before. I was like, that’s not gonna happen.
But for me — and I think Ira kind of came on board with it — the thing that was more interesting was, there’s not much we can do to alter my height. I’m like 6′, 6’1″. We’re never going to get me up to 6’6″ without some giant platform shoes. But actually, the thing that’s more important is, to your point earlier, the sense of bigness in every other respect. You know what I mean? The voice and the unpredictability and the chaos and energy that he brings; that was more important than getting super jacked.
I can only imagine how turning your head must have been like with that helm on. You’d have to have a radius around you where people can’t stand near, lest you knock them out with the antlers.
INGS: Yeah, and then, plus, once you add in the shield, and then your lance in there. I mean, it’s a big radius.
Daniel Ings Reveals Where Lyonel Baratheon’s Anti-Targaryen Sentiment Comes From
“He is this party guy, but he does see everything.”
Talking about the Trial of Seven, at one point when Dunk goes to Lyonel to ask him to join him, Lyonel is like, “Oh yeah, this is a once in a lifetime situation. Obviously I’m going to take part in it.” And that’s the impression that we get, that he’s there for the glory of it. But I’m wondering if there’s something else in it, because obviously he and Dunk have formed a friendship that’s so unlikely. Is there a bit of that loyalty, of like, “Yeah, I’m gonna stand by you,” or is it more like, “Well, who would say no to this?”
INGS: I mean, I think it’s definitely both, but I think it would take a lot longer for him to let someone into that second part, right? Like he, for sure, is inspired by this young hedge knight, and inspired by his bravery and honor and his naivety, you know? So I think, ultimately, put it this way, I don’t think he could pick to fight on the other side, like for Lyonel Baratheon. And meeting this guy, Dunk, has just opened up the tourney for him. He does this shit all the time, and it’s fun, it’s like Glastonbury for him.
But then he meets this guy who reminds him that it’s about something bigger. I think it kind of kills two birds with one stone. So I think it’s true when he says, like, “There hasn’t been a Trial of Seven for 100 years. I’m not going to miss out. This is fucking awesome,” that I think is true, but it is also a convenient way to mask the inner context of what he’s saying, which is also like, “You’re awesome. You are the greatest thing that’s happened to this tourney. And, for sure, I’ll stand by your side.” When he says, “I knew you’d be trouble,” what he’s really saying is, “I knew you’d be fun.”
In the finale, we get a little bit deeper into Lyonel’s character, where he really shows a deep disdain for the Targaryens. I’m wondering if you talked with Ira about that? Or if it was in the script about where that dislike, and even hatred comes from?
INGS: Well, I think it’s a good point. We didn’t talk about it too much. I can’t remember if the line is still in it, but at one point, he sort of says, “The only good dragon is a dead dragon.” And, you know, there’s a complicated history between Lyonel’s heritage and the Targaryens, but I suppose it’s a general sort of anti-establishment feeling of animosity towards them, because they’re people in power, but their grip on power is slipping.
Lyonel says, at one point, war is coming, and it’s a little minute before it comes, but I think he can sense that this is a dynasty on the wane, and that tends to create violence and chaos. It’s like a dying dinosaur, the last gasp of a dying dinosaur. So, we actually didn’t talk too much about it, and, as you point out, it exposes a slightly deeper understanding with Lyonel. He is this party guy, but he does see everything. He’s an observer. He sees what these people are about, and the lack of honor in the Targaryens and the distinct sense of honor in Dunk.
Daniel Ings Reflects on George R.R. Martin’s Tease for Lyonel’s Future
“Us Baratheons, we’re rebellious folk, you know?”
I know that Season 2 is filming. Are you part of it, or has your chapter with the story ended for now?
INGS: I mean, I couldn’t possibly comment on Series 2, but I would love for audiences to get to see Lyonel Baratheon again. I’d love to play this guy again. He’s not in the second book or the third book.
That’s why I was curious.
INGS: As with the first, these series will be very faithful to George [R.R. Martin]’s writing. Actually I spoke to George one day on set. He came down and was like, [George R.R. Martin voice] “You know, your character comes back later on down the line.” And I’d done a little deep dive into the Westeros lore online, and you can find so much of the history that’s written even if these books haven’t necessarily been written yet, but, yeah, there’s some interesting story to tell further down the line with Lyonel and Dunk and Egg. But, you know, I have to wait and see if the story catches up to it, and if that story ever gets told, I’d be pumped.
I would love to see you back again, and I know the story he’s talking about.
INGS: Oh, cool! It’s fun, right?
Yeah, definitely. I love George’s world, and I’m always happy to see a version of it on screen.
INGS: Totally, me too. And us Baratheons, we’re rebellious folk, you know?
All episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 are now available to stream on HBO.
- Release Date
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January 18, 2026
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Ira Parker
- Directors
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Owen Harris
- Writers
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George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker
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Peter Claffey
Ser Duncan ‘Dunk’ the Tall
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