“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” star debunks Henry Cavill casting speculation
- - “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” star debunks Henry Cavill casting speculation
Shania RussellFebruary 18, 2026 at 9:24 AM
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Peter Claffey on 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,' and Henry Cavill in New York City in 2024
Steffan Hill/HBO; Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
Don't expect to see a Witcher riding through Westeros anytime soon.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms star Peter Claffey is defending both his squire and the truth by addressing speculation that Henry Cavill has been cast in the Game of Thrones spinoff. The recent whispers were inspired by a resurfaced Comic-Con clip in which Claffey's 11-year-old costar, Dexter Sol Ansell, appears to confirm that the former Superman actor will appear in season 2 of AKOTSK. Or so the internet believes.
But ahead of the show's penultimate episode, Claffey insisted that the casting rumor was just a massive misunderstanding.
"Just to clarify, the thing Dex was referring to in the interview had nothing to do with Henry Cavill coming into the show or the GOT universe (I wish!)," Claffey wrote in a now-expired Instagram Story post, adding a laughing emoji and the words, "Complete misunderstanding."
Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell in 'A night of the Seven Kingdoms'
Steffan Hill/HBO
The clip in question begins with Claffey comparing his hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, to Cavill's character from The Witcher.
"Dunk is kind of like, his movement into Ashford, he's kind of a less sexy, less confident, less charismatic Geralt of Rivia," Claffey jokes in the video.
Ansell then interjects, asking, "Do you think you can say that Henry Cavill...?"
The young actor then trails off, and after a meaningful glance, Claffey appears to figure out what Ansell is referencing and quickly replies, "No, no, no, no. God no, no, don't say that." To the journalists present, he adds, "You didn't hear that."
Fans immediately attempted to read between the lines, speculating that Ansell was trying to conceal the fact that Cavill had been cast in AKOTSK ahead of the show's second season. This was largely inspired by the fact that Cavill has been a popular fancast for a significant character in the Westerosi canon: Daemon Blackfyre, a former Targaryen bastard who kickstarted the first Blackfyre rebellion. Since A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms picks up on the heels of the bloody Targaryen conflict, fans speculated that Cavill as Daemon could appear via flashback in season 2.
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to HBO for comment.
The rampant speculation was also fueled by the existence of another clip in which Ansell appears to spoil a major plot point for a potential future season of the show. The footage sees Ansell and Claffey answering questions about the show when the young actor suddenly references information that he says author George R.R. Martin gave him about one character's fate — a revelation that has yet to be addressed in his books.
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In the video, Claffey tries to move Ansell away from the subject and grimaces at the camera when his costar seems to say a little too much. The older actor then tells the off-camera interviewer, "We don't know exactly what's happened, but let's just get this season 1 out of the way, and we'll see."
The final episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 will air on Feb. 22 on HBO and HBO Max.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
