Matt Smith may play a fan-favorite Targaryen right now, but there was another Targaryen descendant who has always had fan support for being the best Game of Thrones character. Fans may get riled up for that exact reason at Smith’s recent comments on who would win a battle between Daemon Targaryen and Jon Snow. Smith shared that Daemon would emerge victorious over Kit Harington’s Jon Snow in such a scenario.
Such a fight would never take place in the Game of Thrones universe because of the 200-year gap between the storylines. However, Smith shared that his character’s ownership of the large red dragon Caraxes would make him a clear winner over Jon Snow.
Matt Smith Claims Daemon Targaryen Would Win Over Jon Snow In A Fight
Matt Smith was one of the prominent actors to be cast in House of the Dragon after his fame as the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who. He easily made fans for his character Daemon Targaryen as well. While Game of Thrones fans have no bad blood towards Daemon, there was always this internet debate about who would win in a Daemon Targaryen vs. Jon Snow fight.
When Matt Smith appeared on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, he was asked the same question by the host. Smith shared with Jimmy Fallon about his experience at the 2011 Comic-Con when he and Kit Harington were on the same panel, representing Doctor Who and Game of Thrones respectively.
Fallon then wanted Smith to settle the debate on Daemon vs. Jon Snow. The host was taken aback when Smith chose his character without hesitance. Smith shared that he had a lot of respect for Harington’s character, but he added that he had a dragon in his show. He added that he could’ve taken down the Stark brothers from the original show. Smith shared on The Tonight Show:
Wow. Come on, man. Jimmy… Who would win in a fight between Jon Snow and… Mate, I’ve got a dragon. Listen, I have a lot of respect for Jon Snow. Hey, Jon Snow is a bad boy. Don’t get me wrong. Kit Harington… lovely man, lovely guy. I have a lot of respect. But don’t get it twisted. I would f*ck those brothers up, mate. I’ve got a dragon.
Smith may have rubbed a few Jon Snow fans the wrong way with his comments. One of the fans, @calleysharkus3540, shared, “In all fairness Daenerys had a dragon too…..and she got shanked.” Another fan, @Alex-bz8lj, shared, “Jon Snow is a better warrior and has better feats.” However, there were many who agreed with Smith that Daemon would win any time against Jon Snow.
Matt Smith Has Utmost Respect For Game Of Thrones
During an earlier interview with Variety, Matt Smith shared that he initially had doubts about how his show would fare compared to Game of Thrones. The first thing he said to the House of the Dragon creators, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik was, “My concern is that we’ve seen this story told.”
Even after the success of the show, Smith humbly admitted that he didn’t expect his show to outmatch the success of Game of Thrones. He was sure that no show could recreate the love, affection, or scale of the show. Smith told Variety:
In a way, I was lucky, because I had that in ‘Doctor Who’ a bit. But it feels like people judge it on its own terms. You’re never going to create the moment in time that ‘Game of Thrones’ was — the love and affection and scale of that show. It’s never going to be that, because it was a moment in time.
As revealed in the trailer of House of the Dragon Season 2, the show will now explore the full-blown rivalry between Emma D’Arcy‘s Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke‘s Alicent Hightower. Smith shared with Fallon that the show will explore this rift along with the grief of the characters.
Both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon Season 1 are now available on Max. The second season of the prequel series will premiere on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16.
