Harry Collett goes inside “House of the Dragon” season 3's premiere cliffhanger and Jace's big gamble
Harry Collett goes inside “House of the Dragon” season 3's premiere cliffhanger and Jace's big gamble
Nick RomanoMon, June 22, 2026 at 2:13 AM UTC
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Harry Collett filming Battle of the Gullet as Jacaerys on 'House of the Dragon' season 3Credit: Theo Whiteman/HBOKey Points -
Harry Collett dives into Jace's big gamble on House of the Dragon season 3 and the cliffhanger ending.
The actor recalls his most difficult part filming the Battle of the Gullet.
Collett's wrap gifts included a 3D model of the head of Jace's dragon and his character's sword.
Warning: This article contains spoilers from House of the Dragon season 3.
Harry Collett still had one item on his House of the Dragon bucket list before his time as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon came to an end.
"There's no way I can leave this show without saying 'Dracarys!'" he tells Entertainment Weekly. "There was no way. Not on my watch."
It may come as a surprise that Collett still hadn't used the High Valyrian command for a dragon to shoot fire until the season 3 premiere, but as he points out, the 22-year-old English actor from London only had "a very chill dragon ride" back in season 1. The character, the eldest son of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy), was sent across Westeros as an envoy to rally their allies.
"Nothing compared to this," he says of the season 3 opener.
Harry Collett and Emma D'Arcy on 'House of the Dragon' season 3Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO
House of the Dragon returned Sunday night with the Battle of the Gullet, described in the pages of author George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood as one of the most violent sea battles in the history of this fantasy world. The Triarchy, in cahoots with the Greens, lead a fleet to break up the blockade of the Gullet, the trade passage held by Rhaenyra's forces since the beginning of this civil war for succession.
"I'm shouting these Valyrian words and saying 'Dracarys,' which wasn't really originally in the script," Collett recalls of filming on the mechanical buck used to film aerial dragon-riding scenes. "I actually asked if I could say that. So I was really happy about that."
It really was one of Collett's final acts as the young Jace, one of the many casualties in the Battle of the Gullet. Eager to prove himself, the prince locks his mother in her room so that he and his betrothed, Lady Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia), can fly out instead.
"She has been fighting so hard to keep me at home and keep me safe because she knows that I'm the heir," Collett explains. "Now, he's playing the 'I don't want to listen to mum. I'm gonna be my own man now,' which is completely fair enough because 16 in the Game of Thrones world is probably 30-odd."
Of course, there's an unexpected complication.
A scene from the Battle of the Gullet on 'House of the Dragon' season 3Credit: Courtesy of HBO
In a major reworking of the source material, Baela's sister, Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), claims the wild dragon from the Veil, known as Sheepstealer. She rides the beast out to the Gullet, only to promptly lose control of the untamed drake as he attacks Jace and Baela. In Fire & Blood, it's a different character, Nettles (not adapted for the show), who mounts Sheepstealer.
The chaos allows a Triarchy ship to harpoon Jace's dragon, Vermax, dragging the flailing creature down into the ocean, along with Rhaenyra's heir. Jace is then slain by enemy arrows.
"I was just in ADR and they were like, 'This is gonna break some hearts,'" Collett says, speaking with EW in early May. "I was like, 'I know it's morbid, but I hope so.' I hope that people feel sad by it because it is sad, and the way they've done it is remarkable. Hopefully, I've imprinted enough Jace onto people's hearts that by the time I actually pass on the show, it makes an impact."
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Collett knew about Jace's fate early on when he got the part. He read through the synopsis of events, as well as portions of Fire & Blood, and expected to die at some point. He commends showrunner and lead writer Ryan Condal for taking time over the phone to walk him through everything that would happen in the Gullet.
It's known among the cast as "the death call," Collett shares. He thinks the twins — Luke and Elliott Tittensor, who played Arryk and Erryk Cargyll — were the ones to coin it, but he can't quite be sure of the origins. "It's mainly to tell you how your death is gonna go," he adds.
Harry Collett as Jacaerys riding Vermax on 'House of the Dragon' season 3Credit: Courtesy of HBO
Though Collett had very little dialogue, the team decided through many meetings with Condal that Jace, being just a kid, would feel both fear and determination. "This is the moment he's been waiting for," Collett says. "I feel like we tried to get that across in the scenes as much as possible."
The most difficult part, however, was the actual dying. There were two water tanks: one outdoors on the set of Leavesden Studios in the U.K. to film Vermax sinking into the depths, and one indoors to shoot the close-up of Jace impaled by arrows.
"I was really struggling with trying to float above the water as a lifeless body and not breathing in any water," the actor recalls. "The waves kept hitting my nose and I was choking on so much water…. I did, in the end, hold my breath. Arrow went in, I closed my eyes, floated above the water, and then held my breath until they said cut. Obviously, I'm moving to keep myself afloat and that's tiring. I was taking little breaths every single time. So it was a big challenge."
Collett's last day on set came during the shooting of episode 2. He remembers it vividly, this time playing the corpse of Jace as he's carried by guards.
Bethan Antonia and Harry Collett on 'House of the Dragon' season 3Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO
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"I very rarely dread things that we shoot, and I rarely dread scenes," D'Arcy says separately. "Often in our job, ironically, the larger the emotional scale, in some ways, the more fun, the more engaging, the more there is to do. But that was like the one, that was the one that I dreaded this season, and it was pretty grim actually on the day."
"I didn't really have to do much on my last day," Collett jokes of playing a corpse. "But towards the end, it was such a surreal experience. Emma came from another studio, they were filming another scene. Matt [Smith, Prince Daeron Targaryen] came. There was everybody there that had been important to me this whole time. When they said, 'That's a wrap on Harry,' it just feels so weird. I got cast for this role when I was 17 and now I'm 22. I've spent a big portion of growing up on this show with amazing people. I feel like they were my family in a way, my second home. For that to just end is so weird."
The surprise wrap gifts, direct from Condal, seemed to soften the emotional blows. One was a 3D model of Vermax's head. The other was Jace's sword. "As soon as I got home, I was FaceTiming all of my friends. 'Look what I've got!'" Collett remembers.
As for the survivors on House of the Dragon, we're now way past the point of no return. The fallout from the Gullet will carry us through the inevitable bloody conclusion, which Condal insists will be season 4. "There are the things that change the whole course of the battle and what moves forward," Collett states, "and Jace has a very big impact in that."
New episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 arrive every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
on Entertainment Weekly
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