Fabien Frankel Gets Candid About Filming Criston Cole’s Death Scene on House of the Dragon
Fabien Frankel Gets Candid About Filming Criston Cole’s Death Scene on House of the Dragon
Morning Honey Staff Fri, July 31, 2026 at 10:30 AM UTC
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Actor Fabien Frankel talks about shooting his character Criston Cole's death scene on House of the Dragon. Image Credit: @Instagram/houseofthedragonhbo
Actor Fabien Frankel’s character Criston Cole might have received several brickbats, especially from “Team Black” fans of House of the Dragon. Still, there can be no denying that he did manage to make the role a memorable one. The sixth episode of the show’s third season, titled Faceless Men, marked the death of his character, marking the end of his almost five-year-long stint on the fantasy drama series. He recently opened up about the bittersweet emotions that shrouded him as he filmed his last scene.
Talking about his character’s unceremonious demise on the show, Criston Cole and his army think that they have managed to defeat Queen Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) forces, but then come face to face with the Winter Wolves led by Roddy the Ruin (Tommy Flanagan), coupled with House Tully’s forces.
While visibly defeated, Cole still yearns for a valiant soldier’s death; his wish remains unfulfilled after he is killed by Alyssane Blackwood (Annie Shaparo) by a shower of arrows.
Fabien Frankel On His Character’s Death
Talking about his character’s end on House of the Dragon, Fabien told Entertainment Weekly, “I feel proud to be dead in a way. I never died on TV. I’d never died in anything until this. It’s my first-ever death.”
Fabien Frankel also recalled the first time he received the call from showrunner Ryan Condal informing him about his character’s fate on season three of the show. The actor was reportedly standing in a line at the U.S. embassy in London to renew his visa when he received the phone call.
Remembering the incident, the actor said, “It was out of season, so it was unexpected. And I knew, as soon as the phone rang and it said Ryan Condal (showrunner), I was gonna get it. But he was very magnanimous and very generous and told me how it was gonna happen and said that he was writing something really special for it, and he did that. I was suddenly back in this U.S. embassy, realizing that I’m dead. But I felt it coming.”
The Task actor had already read the Fire & Blood book and knew that his character’s doom was approaching in the Butcher’s Ball sequence. He shot for the war scenes a day before filming for Cole’s death scene. However, on the big day, he recalled going into a 90-minute prosthetics change to fix an arrow in his eye.
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Frankel Was ‘So Emotional At The End’
The actor said, “I feel like we had 20 minutes to shoot the whole death scene. It was weird. I suppose I hadn’t expected I was gonna be so emotional at the end. It’s been five-and-a-half years since filming season 1, and I think in my head it was just gonna be another day. And then suddenly we did it.”
The last shot of Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole sees him lying lifeless on the ground while the soldiers attack each other. His character could still be seen holding onto his lover Queen Dowager Alicent Hightower’s (Olivia Cooke) handkerchief, which she had given him as a parting gift for good luck.
Talking about the same, the Venice at Dawn actor said, “It was more morose than I thought it was gonna be. I guess I thought it was gonna be all the lead-up is really fun, but then the moment where you’re actually dying, it’s quite a surreal experience just to go through that.”
Fabien also revealed to the publication that showrunner Ryan Condal had gifted him his character’s helmet and sword as a sentimental souvenir from the set. However, the actor confessed that they are currently lying in a spare room in his London flat, adding, “They need a proper home.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
