Matt Smith Quizzed 'House of the Dragon' Cast on Doctor Who: Most of Them Failed
Matt Smith asked the HOTD cast which Doctor he played and what year his era began. Fabien Frankel's loudly wrong answer and Emma D'Arcy's spot-on guess stole the night.
Long before he was swinging a sword and causing chaos in Westeros, Matt Smith was traveling through time and space inside a blue box bigger on the inside. 'Doctor Who' fans and British TV followers in general know well that he played the Eleventh Doctor from 2010 to 2013. Yet it turns out most of his 'House of the Dragon' co-stars either don't know or can only guess which Doctor Smith played, and from what year.
In a group cast interview for Vanity Fair, Smith put his co-stars in the hot seat, asking them which number Doctor he was and what year he started. Fabien Frankel, who plays Ser Criston Cole, answered instantly and loudly — and wrong: he said "the Twelfth Doctor." That role, of course, belonged to Peter Capaldi. Frankel also admitted he'd previously thought Smith was the Second Doctor at one point. The cast burst out laughing at this guess pointing to a figure from 1966, a year before Matt Smith was even born.
Frankel kept the laughs coming, guessing the year as 2000 and Smith's age when he started the role as 25. When Smith asked in return, "how old are you right now?" Frankel replied with a joke: "You never ask a lady her age." Matt Smith will turn 44 in October 2026; he was 26 when he took on the 'Doctor Who' role.
Olivia Cooke couldn't guess the Doctor's number but correctly guessed that his era began in 2010. Emma D'Arcy gave the direct answer, "the Eleventh Doctor"; Tom Glynn-Carney said "Twelve." The rest of the cast stayed frozen like deer in headlights, unable to answer. When Smith revealed the answers, Frankel swore while the rest of the table erupted into laughter.
The short clip shows that the warmth felt on screen in 'House of the Dragon' extends behind the scenes too. The cast may have missed a piece of trivia widely known about Matt Smith, but they certainly know he remains legendary in the role of Daemon Targaryen.