Iwan Rheon has finally gone back to the fantasy world that made Ramsay Bolton one of Game of Thrones' most feared figures. After a 10-year break, he says House of the Dragon is “fantastic,” a striking endorsement from someone who spent years away from the franchise.
Rheon’s 10-year pause
“I wasn’t quite ready to dive back in and immerse myself before now, but it's been 10 years and a couple of my friends are in it, so I thought I'd give it a go and it's fantastic,” Rheon said in an interview with Radio Times. The comment puts a timeline on his return and explains why the spinoff got his attention only now.
Rheon played Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones, a character introduced in season 3 through the torture of Theon Greyjoy and later defeated in season 6 by Sansa Stark, Jon Snow, and their allies. That history matters because it shows how far back his connection to the franchise goes — and how complete his pause was after Ramsay died in season 6.
Coster-Waldau and Headey
Rheon’s reaction lands in the same lane as other former Game of Thrones actors who have approached House of the Dragon carefully. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau said that after watching the opening credits and hearing the familiar theme music, it was “too soon” to watch. Lena Headey used a different word for the same feeling, calling it “too weird” to tune into the prequel.
That hesitation is part of the story. House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones and centers on the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, so it is designed as a new entry point even while it carries the same franchise identity that some of the old cast still hesitate to revisit.
House of the Dragon on Sundays
The series is still releasing new episodes on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max, which keeps the franchise visible week to week rather than as a one-off nostalgia event. Its Rotten Tomatoes scores show that the show has already built a broader case for itself: 88% from critics and 74% from audiences.
Game of Thrones still carries its own benchmark, with an 89% Tomatometer score and an 85% Popcornmeter score, so Rheon’s praise gives House of the Dragon an endorsement from inside the original cast without pretending the two shows are identical. The sharper read is simple: a former Ramsay Bolton actor who once kept his distance has now given the prequel a try, and he liked what he saw. The remaining question is whether the friends he mentioned are the reason he finally crossed back over.
