One twin posing as their identical sibling has been a plot point in comedy television and film over the years, but HBO’s House Of The Dragon had their own opportunity for a twin switch up behind the scenes of the familial drama. It happened while filming the finale, when one of the Cargyll twins contracted COVID-19.
Twins Luke and Elliott Tittensor play Ser Arryk Cargyll and Ser Erryk Cargyll in the series, brothers who eventually become split by their opposing allegiances. Episode ten director Greg Yaitanes reveals to Entertainment Weekly that when Elliott had a COVID scare during filming the finale, the obvious move was to have his brother Luke step in as his substitute.
“There’s that scene, that big scene where Corlys [Steve Toussaint] comes down and they’re putting the markers on the table and the messenger comes in,” Yaitanes explains on EW’s West Of Westeros podcast. “It was a shot over two days and then one got COVID. [Elliott] got COVID, so we swapped him out with his brother.”
While one case of COVID-19 has been enough to shut down numerous productions over the last few years, the production was able to avert disastrous delays in filming thanks to the swap out. However, as if telling the difference between the names Arryk and Erryk wasn’t enough, the director says things got a little complicated while shooting the scenes with Luke Tittensor, Elliot Grihault (who plays Luke Velaryon), and Elliott Tittensor.
“The way this came to me was the game of telephone,” Yaitanes jokes.
Well, it’s time to rewatch the finale and see if you can tell the two twins apart. The first season of House Of The Dragon is currently available for streaming on HBO Max.