Omg, House of the Dragon cast members were actually set on fire in *that* Vermithor scene

Vermithor got a full course buffet of charred Targaryen’s during the most recent episode of House of the Dragon, but no there was no CGI involved, people literally got set on fire. The scene was one of the most tense to film so far, according to both Kieran Bew ew who plays Hugh Hammer and Vanja Černjul, the cinematographer.

Kieran explained that the stuntmen got set on fire using a massive flame thrower and they could only be on fire for eight seconds for safety reasons. A behind the scenes video on TikTok shows them being quite literally lit up before being quickly extinguished. Apparently they had to be careful with where they pointed the extinguishers as they could have accidentally caught another actor on fire. Talk about being kept on you toes!

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Talking to Insider, House of the Dragon cinematographer Vanja Černjul explained more about how they handled the dangerous fire scenes. He said: “I think in one shot, we had 12 stunt people on fire. Even though you are aware that it’s a stunt people, that it’s some of the best stunt people in the world, when you see people on fire, it’s really unpleasant to watch. Imagine 12 people lit at one time with a flame thrower.”

Via HBO

Kieran Bew who plays Hugh the Hammer revealed how much is going on in the scenes and how hectic they are to film. He explained to Decider: “The majority of it is practical. Anything that is CGI, I really haven’t seen. I don’t think they would need to add any more CGI.

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“So one of the nights, we actually had to shoot the sequence in the open air. We weren’t allowed to do it in the studio because they burned so many people, more people than they’ve ever done before. So being next to it, it’s something like nine feet you have to be. Well, nine feet sounds, I don’t know, does it sound a lot? Because when you are close to somebody on fire, nine feet is not a lot. We had multiple people on fire.”

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He continues: “We had to act and you have to wait until you have your cue for your feet to move. Plus, you know, everything is safe and everything is obviously managed really well, but the gel that they put on their feet to set on fire, that can come off. You’re running around with a wig that’s cost 20,000 pounds or something and you’re thinking, “Okay, don’t set fire on the hair. Don’t forget your cues. Don’t fall off the massive dragon plinth, which itself is about thirty feet off the ground, and don’t knock anyone else off.” You know, there’s so many things to think about, but it’s thrilling.

“Tom Bennett [Ulf White] and I stood while they tested the three meter long flamethrower that they were going to blast one of our stuntmen in the face with, and when they first lit it up, we could not stop laughing. We were almost tears in our eyes laughing because we were like, “Someone’s going to stand in front of that fucking thing. Are you joking?” And the heat that comes off it is, you could cook off it and it’s thrilling. Then to have somebody say, “It’s all right, you’re safe.” You’re like, “Okay, great. We can stand here? Okay, cool. Great.” It’s like a bonfire night. Yeah.”

Related articles recommended by this author:

• Okay, but who is Saera Targaryen, Hugh the Hammer’s mother in House of the Dragon?

• Here’s why Hugh the Hammer was able to claim Vermithor in House of the Dragon

• The treacherous fate of Ulf the White and Hugh the Hammer in House of the Dragon books

Featured image via HBO and TikTok.