‘House of the Dragon’s Abubakar Salim breaks down Corlys and Alyn’s relationship

Fatherhood has played a large role in Abubakar Salim’s work over the past few years.

From 2020 to 2022, the actor and game developer starred in Raised by Wolves as Father, an android raising human children on planet Kepler-22b. In 2024, his video game studio Surgent Studios released Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a side-scroller about a shaman on a quest to revive his father. As creative lead on Zau, Salim drew on his grief for his own late father, describing the game as “a piece of art that honored him” at the 2023 Game Awards.

Now, Salim tackles a very different kind of father-son relationship in House of the Dragon. He plays Alyn of Hull, bastard child of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and brother to newly minted dragonrider Addam (Clinton Liberty). At the start of Season 2, Corlys and Alyn’s relationship is distant, more that between a boss and an employee. But since Alyn saved Corlys’ life offscreen during the events of Season 1, Corlys has begun paying more attention to him. In episode 6, he makes Alyn his first mate. In episode 7, he tasks him with recruiting bastard Targaryens in King’s Landing to be new dragonriders for Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). Ever so slowly, Corlys is bringing Alyn into the light — but is it too little, too late?

In an interview with Mashable, Salim discussed the similarities between Zau and House of the Dragon, Alyn’s complicated relationship with Corlys, and the surprisingly complicated shaving scene from episode 6.

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Mashable: To start, I saw you tweet that there was a line you liked so much in episode 6 that you “borrowed” it and put it in Zau. What was the line, and what was it about it that resonated with you enough that you brought it to your game?

It was “You make an art of provoking me,” [which Alyn says to Addam]. I remember reading it and being like, “Oh, that is the story of my life.” It’s almost like you’re enjoying the fact that someone is provoking you, even though they are pushing your buttons. It was just a really powerful line that carries this element of, “I can respect it, but at the same time I’m really annoyed by it.”

You were directing Zau at the same time that you were shooting House of the Dragon. Both projects have interesting links to fatherhood. Did you ever find your work on one project influencing the other?

Absolutely. Both deal with absent fathers, and they come in all kinds of forms. In Zau, you have a father who was loved dearly and passed away too soon. In House of the Dragon, you have a father who almost passed away without any sense of acknowledgment. But the ghost of them still haunts you. It was really interesting that I was directing this game about my relationship with my father to a degree, and also having a very different relationship with the father on set of House of the Dragon. They both really sung with one another.

I think that’s why the line “You make an art of provoking me” really stuck with me. Because who else knows how better to annoy you than your own father, you know? I deliver the line to Addam, but it applies to all your kin.

Tell me about building that family relationship with Alyn and Corlys and Addam.

When Alyn looks at Corlys, there’s a haunting element of, “No, his father is dead.” His father doesn’t exist in his eyes, but he’s haunted by him. He just follows orders for his boss, who happens to also be his father.

I’ve read the books and did a lot of thinking about how Alyn is supposed to be 15. He’s supposed to be young, boisterous — a different guy to the guy that I’m playing on-screen. That, to me, is interesting, because it means that he’s had to live with all of this baggage for so many years. The whole relationship with Corlys is supposed to be transactional, but there is this deep yearning for love that, although it’s buried deep, still exists.

Alyn puts that love and that kind of importance on Addam. He loves his brother dearly, cares for him, and doesn’t want him to to be in any form of danger. Hell, now he’s on a dragon. [Laughs] It’s, like, the most dangerous thing.

Clinton Liberty and Abubakar Salim in “House of the Dragon.”
Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO

You mentioned the sense of baggage, and there’s so much left unsaid between Alyn and Corlys. When you were first approaching the character of Alyn, how were you envisioning and developing his backstory?

I saw him as always working at the shipyard before Addam was born, kind of keeping to himself. I think he was very much an Addam type of character, wanting and yearning for great, big things and thinking that his life would change. He probably never wanted to cut his hair, even though his mother probably forced him to do so, because the threat on your life is much bigger when you are a bastard. There’s also a sense of waiting for his father to come back and take him and his mother away from the shitty life that they had. But that never happened, so he threw himself into work.

Then, once Addam came into play, that implies that Corlys came back, only to abandon them again. I think that was the killer. That’s where his heart broke.

Funnily enough, there was a similar thing that happened to me when my father passed, the idea of being like, “Okay, I’ve got to be the man of the house now. I’ve got to make sure that everyone’s fine; I’ve got to make the money, got to do everything, and keep everyone happy.” That’s essentially the role that Alyn took, and he was going to be the anchor of the space.

What does it mean for him, after all that, hearing from Corlys that Addam is a dragonrider now?

It’s frightening, because it’s such a change. It’s the opposite of what he was prepared for. He’s just heard of Princess Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys dying, so there’s the mentality that they are not gods, they’re mortals. And if the Greens can do that to Rhaenys, what are they going to do to Addam?

So when Corlys tells Alyn, “Maybe you should have a look and give claiming a dragon a try,” I think 15-year-old Alyn would have, whereas right now, Alyn couldn’t think of anything worse.

Abubakar Salim and Eve Best in “House of the Dragon.”
Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Rhaenys is a complicated figure in Alyn’s life. How does Alyn feel about her passing?

Death is always hard and saddening, but it’s also just a part of life. With Rhaenys, it’s almost like hearing of a neighbor passing, in a way. Even politically, I think Alyn thinks that the whole war is a bit silly and stupid, to be honest. He’s very aware that it’s not the lives of those higher up that are at stake. It’s the lowborn people who are going to be sacrificing themselves for a petty family squabble.

Now that his brother’s in the mix of it, it’s even worse. It’s even more frightening. That doesn’t mean that Alyn doesn’t want to engage in the war. He has a feeling of loyalty to Corlys, and to the sea, essentially. But he doesn’t want his brother to be a part of that.

In episode 7, we finally get the Sowing of the Seeds, and Alyn plays a bit of a role as the recruiter of the Targaryen bastards in King’s Landing. What is going through his head when he gets this request from Corlys, as a bastard himself?

He’s just like, “Yeah, sure, I’ll do it. Whatever. As long as you pay me, I’ll do it.” I don’t think he cares much for it. He does what he’s told to do… His most powerful yet weakest trait is his loyalty, which, if you’ve read Fire & Blood —

I was going to say, “Oh no!”

[Laughs] Yeah. But with Corlys’ request, his response comes from whatever will keep Addam safe. Think about it: If we get more dragons on our side, that means that Addam is less likely to die. Fantastic! He’s always acting with the thought of, “How should I keep my brother safe and not involved in this madness as much as possible?”

I love that brotherly bond that Alyn and Addam share. Since both you and Clinton Liberty are coming onto this big ensemble show as new characters, what was it like working together and creating this relationship?

Oh, brilliant. I love Clinton. There is a such a love and beautiful adoration for the art that I see in Clinton that really reminds me of how great everything is, and how good this stuff is. We are playing at the end of the day. We’re kids, you know, playing Dungeons and Dragons, basically. And Clinton is such a force, just such a brilliant, brilliant human being. Forging the relationship between us was so easy.

Abubakar Salim and Steve Toussaint in “House of the Dragon.”
Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

And what was it like working with Steve Toussaint, as someone who is a veteran of the show already?

I was frightened, man. You see him on-screen, you’re like, “This guy’s a force. Like an actual unit.” But what’s great is he’s actually the most welcoming, grounded human being you will ever meet. He just does his thing. And working with Steve, I learned a hell of a lot. I learned to just enjoy the scene, enjoy the time.

There’s always a fear as an actor of coming into a show when the whole team is there, because then you feel a bit like the outsider. But everyone has been so welcoming and made us feel as if we’ve been there from the get-go.

You were also in Raised by Wolves, another big genre show. What was something you learned from that set that you brought to House of the Dragon’s?

What I’ve taken from it is the passion and love from all departments on a project. We’re all a team here, right? No one’s special. You can really feel that.

On Raised by Wolves, you’ve got Ridley Scott, who’s given me and Amanda [Collin] — I’m not necessarily saying that we’re unknowns, but we weren’t really known — a chance. But there was no sense of, “Why should we lead a show?” We were all just aiming for the same thing, which is telling a story. That reflects and resonates with House of the Dragon as well. We’re not here to be stars or be special; we just want to enjoy and do our jobs. So I’d say carrying that mentality of not trying to take the limelight and being a team player has been a lovely tip.

Did you and Amanda, who plays Jeyne Arryn on House of the Dragon, get a chance to reunite at all on the set?

We definitely crossed paths, which was really lovely. We were really hoping for scenes together. It would have been so great, because she’s so great to work opposite with. When I was watching the episodes and listening to her, the first thing I did was message her [to say], “Your accent is amazing!”

I saw in the behind-the-scenes video for episode 6 that the scene where you shave your head was very technically demanding. When you’re joining a show of this scale, did you ever think, “Shaving is going to be the toughest thing for me to deal with”?

No, not at all! But to be honest, it’s great. It’s so funny, after Raised by Wolves, they can throw anything at me, and I love it. In that show, I had to have makeup, painted contacts, dyed ginger hair, and the silver bloody suit. So me putting glue on my head and shaving was like a dream. I was questioning how the hell they were going to pull off the shaving, but that’s the power of an amazing crew: They will figure it out.

Any shot that you have my face in, I have glue on my head with sprinkles of the Velaryon blonde hair. I’d be shaving it, and the water would essentially wipe the glue off. But any close up with the actual sharp blade was someone else’s head, and my barber’s hands are cutting it. They brought in the barber I always go to, and he coached me on how to shave. He made it look like this is something that I do all the time.

That’s incredible. And finally, can you tease anything for what the Season 2 finale might hold for Alyn?

You’re definitely going to see something different.

There’s a shot of him in the trailer, where he’s in armor and on a boat. And every week, I’m like, “Where is it?”

I remember seeing that in the trailer and being like, “Guys, come on. Everyone’s gonna be looking for that.” You’ll just have to wait and see, but it’s one of my favorite scenes throughout the show.

The season finale of House of the Dragon airs Aug. 4 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.