House of the Dragon star says Larys doesn't have a foot fetish: 'I think it's weirder than that'
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House of the Dragon star Matthew Needham wanted to clarify something about Larys for Game of Thrones fans attending his panel at the official Game of Thrones Convention in Los Angeles on Saturday. "The apex of his ambition is not feet," he said, amid audience laughter. "As great as that is, it's not."
Needham dove deep into his character, Ser Larys Strong, during a moderated Q&A panel with GOT podcast hosts Jason Concepcion and Greta Johnsen. That included some foot talk.
One of the most explicit moments on House of the Dragon so far came in season 1, episode 8 during a private meeting between Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Larys. In exchange for vital information, Cooke allows her keeper of secrets to masturbate to her bare feet in front of her, though it visibly repulses her to do so.
The actor mentioned how "people were already quite creeped out by me" before that sequence aired on House of the Dragon, but "everyone's been weirdly very nice about it" to his face.
Gary Moyes/HBO Matthew Needham as Larys Strong in 'House of the Dragon'
Despite the laughs, Needham offered thoughtful responses while dissecting the intent behind this sequence.
"I don't think it's a foot fetish like we understand in 2022. I think it's weirder than that," he mused. "It's not just about a man with a clubfoot being attracted to feet. It's that he can make her do it," he noted. "This is a very disturbed person with a lot of trauma... It's about making her feel as much shame as she does for that part of her body as he does for his."
"He can cut out tongues and he can cut out eyes. I think he likes that," the actor continued. "I think he likes making people incomplete. He can't do that with her. He can, though, associate that part of her body with a trauma so that long after he's gone, she's got this sick feeling about it that's connected to that. That's the thing about assault like that: it makes the victim's body the scene of the crime, and I think that's what he likes to do. So I don't see it like he loves feet. It's the fact that she's not into it and he can make her do it."
Needham kept with his profound insights as the panel continued. He pointed to a scene in episode 5 when Larys speaks to Alicent in the Red Keep's garden in front of the weirwood tree about a plant that's thriving in an environment where it's not indigenous. It reappears later in the season in the hands of Larys during pivotal moments with Alicent. Needham said Larys likens Alicent to this plant.
Ollie Upton / HBO Olivia Cooke's Alicent Hightower in 'House of the Dragon'
"He's taken this natural thing that is growing and thriving against all odds and he's cut it and he's potted it and he's in charge of whether it lives or dies," he explained. "And I think that's how he sees Alicent."
During a fan Q&A, Needham was also asked about the significance of Larys' sigil, the firefly, one he made for himself. While he doesn't know the official meaning behind the symbol, he has his own idea.
"The way I thought was it's sort of synonymous with the Hightower thing, like, it's the light in the darkness," he said. "I thought that's sort of how he saw himself, as leading the way into this new future or something.... that he could bring [Alicent] with him, but he's a bit weird."
He would, however, often offer a joke with his more seriously answers. In terms of a House mantra for Larys, Needham joked, with the help of Johnsen, that it would be, "F--- this s---! Show me your feet!"
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