If you’re Obsessing Over Aemond Targaryen as Much as I am, Here’s Everything Ewan Mitchell has Ever Starred in

The thing that you need to know about me is that I grew up on early 2010s Tumblr, which means that I’m basically programmed to do two things— stan villains and obsess over British actors and actresses. That’s just the way I’ve been raised, there’s no changing it now— the pattern’s in too deep, like some sort of Dune-style Imperial Conditioning.

All of this to say that when I first saw Ewan Mitchell playing grown-up Aemond Targaryen in Episode 8 of House of the Dragon I went “ah yes, here he is. The new recruit,” and proceeded to fall deep into the hyper fixation along with the rest of the Internet because there’s nothing that the stan population loves more than an unhinged kinslayer with a badass sapphire eye and issues that span from King’s Landing to the Wall— again, nothing new here.

The House of the Dragon producing team said that they were shocked at how popular Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen had become among fans, something that I find somewhat amusing because once again, Daemon Targaryen is right up the general fandom population’s alley as grand despicable chaos bringer of the show. I can’t help but wonder, though, if producers and writers were similarly caught unawares by Prince Aemond following right along his uncle’s footsteps— which is, as we all know, Aemond’s highest aspiration in life.

As part of the natural lifecycle of fandom fixations, I obviously had to get my hands on all the information I could find about Ewan Mitchell’s previous works— and now that I’ve gathered what I consider a good amount of material in which he had a somewhat prominent role, here I am ready to share it with you so that we can all update our viewing plans and schedules to make way for yet another British actor. Once again I’m asking myself what is 2022 if not 2012 persevering?

Just a quick note before we begin— this list will be all about Ewan Mitchell’s works before House of the Dragon, with as few mentions as possible about his private life. Ideally, no mentions at all. Not that there’s much to know about it— if there’s one thing that’s crystal clear, what with the very sparse information circulating on the Internet and the no official social media, is that Mitchell is a very reserved person. Something that definitely needs to be respected and honored by fans and casual viewers alike.

‘The Halcyon’ (2017)

The period drama The Halcyon aired for one season on ITV, and its plot revolved around the fictional five-star hotel that gives the series its name— following the lives of both guests and staff as London becomes engulfed in World War II and people’s fates seem to spin in and out of The Halcyon’s doors. Throughout its eight episodes, Ewan Mitchell plays the role of Billy Taylor, a bellboy at The Halcyon hotel and later a soldier in the war effort.

‘High Life’ (2018)

The only movie — so far — on this list, High Life is a sci-fi/horror story from French director Claire Denis, with Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche taking up the lead roles. High Life is what I like to call “psychological sci-fi,” where space isn’t really there for cool sci-fi moments but as a terrifying metaphor for the human experience. The idea at the core of its nonlinear storyline is that a group of criminals sentenced to death are chosen and sent on a space mission meant to extract energy from a black hole. Ewan Mitchell plays one of those criminals, Ettore, who is particularly violent towards his fellow crew members.

‘The Last Kingdom’ (2018-2022)

The recurring role in The Last Kingdom is probably Ewan Mitchell’s longest-lasting part to date and the one for which he might be best known to the general public. He appears in the second season of the BBC-turned-Netflix period drama set in early Medieval England as the novice monk Osferth, the illegitimate son of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. Osferth ends up joining the main character Uthred’s band of warriors and following him in his adventures— and getting called “Baby Monk” by everyone which is admittedly extremely cute. Ewan Mitchell was part of the main cast of The Last Kingdom until its fifth and final season— during which, fun fact, he shared the screen with Phia Saban, who plays Aemond’s sister Helaena Targaryen (grown-up version, of course) in House of the Dragon.

‘World on Fire’ (2019-ongoing)

Since this is a British actor we’re talking about, you know there’s gotta be some more World War II period dramas in this list— and here’s where the 2019 World on Fire series comes in. The story follows a choral cast of characters all across war-torn Europe, switching from Britain to Poland to France to Germany to the United States. Ewan Mitchell stars as Tom Bennett, a cocky petty criminal with a truly magnificent accent who ends up joining the Royal Navy. And fun fact, Tom Bennett’s father is played by Sean Bean— known by the A Song of Ice and Fire fans as none other than Eddard of House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. The show currently has one season but it’s been renewed for a second one, and Ewan Mitchell should return and reprise his role of Tom Bennett.

‘Trigger Point’ (2022-ongoing)

The most recent project on this list, barring, of course, House of the Dragon. Trigger Point is a crime thriller series that focuses on the life of an ex-military bomb disposal operative who now works for the London police. Ewan Mitchell appears as Billy Washington, the brother of the main character Lana Washington, around the mid-point of the first season. While the show has been picked up for a second season, let’s just say he might not return to it— plus, there are future seasons of House of the Dragon to consider as well.

(source: IMDb; featured image: HBO)