House of the Dragon: The Battle of the Gullet — My Most Dangerous Day on Set

Some days on a film set stay with you forever. Working as a specialist stunt performer on House of the Dragon's Battle of the Gullet was one of those days — and one of the most demanding experiences of my career.

For me, the standout was the swinging yard arms. Two of them, each carrying four or five stunt performers on either end, taking us from one ship to the other. We came in early to rehearse that specific stunt with stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam. He was genuinely excited about it and had brought in performers he knew could handle the movement. A lot of us had parkour backgrounds, which was exactly why we were there.

That is where years of parkour training really come into their own: judging distance, committing to a jump and finding your balance on landing. On this job, though, the surface you were aiming for was not staying still.

The decks were slick with water and fake blood. Huge water cannons blasted over the boats, and both ships sat on independent gimbals, pitching and rolling underfoot. You had to account for that movement as well as your own. Landing was only the start — you then had to stay on your feet and go straight into the action.

The Triarchy ship, the Bitchfist — yes, that really was its name — would accelerate into the impact, then pitch and roll on contact while the Queen Who Never Was split in half. It was a complicated sequence to film, and we missed a couple of weeks of filming it along the way. The rehearsals mattered: every crossing, landing and clash had to work with the movement of the ships.

There were lighter moments too. The fake blood was everywhere, and the sugary mixture would bring in the wasps which we were fighting in-between takes.. I even had a little scramble with one of the main cast members which was nice.

But the moment I will never forget is the one I got to film myself. I jumped from one boat to the other with a camera in my hand and landed right in the first clash of swords between the two crews. One moment I was crossing the gap; the next I was inside the boarding melee, camera rolling.

Being that close to the action gives you a completely different perspective. The rigging, the costumes, the moving decks, the performers around you — suddenly all of that preparation becomes one moment. For me, it was one of the most extraordinary ship battles I have ever been part of.

This is the side of stunt work I love: bringing specialist movement into a bigger sequence and working with a team to make it happen. House of the Dragon gave me a chance to put my parkour background to work in a world unlike any other. From where I was standing — or swinging, or jumping — it was a job I will never forget.