In a recent episode of HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon,’ Ulf White, had a big moment by bonding with a dragon named Silverwing.
Tom Bennett, who plays Ulf White, has worked as an actor for 20 years but this role is his most significant. In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Bennett was asked what it has been like for him as an actor to join the HBO show, going from small tavern scenes to a big dragon action sequence:
“I feel like a 10-year-old boy being on ‘House of the Dragon.’ It’s like a dream come true. I’ve been an actor for 20 years, but I’ve never operated on anything like this scale. And yeah, he’s introduced as this ancillary character. He’s hanging about, he drives a bit of plot, but we don’t really know who he is. Even in the tavern scene where I’ve got a three-page monologue about my Targaryen blood, we don’t know if he’s lying, whether it’s true. It’s all left very loose. Then it turns out, I do have Targaryen blood.”
The Details About Ulf
Ulf is a dragonseed from Dragonstone, like Hugh Hammer and Nettles (who was cut from the series). In the show, Ulf is a heavy drinker who can’t read or write. In episode 3, he shows he supports the Blacks by calling Jacaerys Velaryon his nephew and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, but he quickly becomes quiet when Aegon arrives at the tavern.
In episode 7, Ulf goes to Dragonstone to answer Rhaenyra’s call for dragonseeds and tries to claim a dragon. Although he regrets it when he sees another candidate killed by Vermithor, he finds his way into the tunnels and meets Silverwing. Expecting to be burned, Ulf is surprised to be able to claim Silverwing. The episode ends with him riding Silverwing over King’s Landing.
Ulf claims the dragon Silverwing, a female dragon once ridden by Queen Alysanne Targaryen. Bennett has acted in various British TV shows like ‘PhoneShop,’ ‘After Life,’ and ‘Life on the Road.’ He has also been on stage, including playing Del Boy in ‘Only Fools and Horses The Musical.’
