Transforming Paddy Constantine to represent the many stages of Viserys’ condition was a complicated process that involved bald caps galore and endless hours in a trailer where a team of makeup artists were hard at work at making the actor and his body doubles look sickly beyond their years. In an interview with Variety, prosthetics designer Barrie Gower explained how his team developed each stage of Viserys’ illness.
“We researched various flesh-eating disorders. Necrosis, leprosy, all kinds of horrible references. Lots of interesting shapes, colors and ulcers,” Gower told the outlet, revealing that there were around 7 different phases of the King’s devolution. “They could give us a good indication for textures, colors, glosses, how dry things would be. It’s very grounded in the real world of horrible diseases.”
The extensive research conducted by Gower and his team definitely paid off. The King’s rapidly worsening health not only drives the plot forward but offers a poignant metaphor about the price of power. A few errant sores soon become a much worse problem for Viserys when he keeps cutting himself on the Iron Throne. As we move forward, he loses a few fingers, then most of his arm, and eventually, half of his face is eaten away by necrosis. It’s easy to see how bad he looks in comparison to some of his peers, like Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who’s still in good health at the time of the Viserys’ death.
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