“I think the truth is, for Rhaenyra, it’s an insurmountable loss, and it’s a reality that is too terrible to reckon with,” the actor told the publication.

“So the first feeling, the first instinct, is sort of utter denial and to try to push back against that dawning terrible reality. It was a hard day at work.”

They added that there was “only one scene” they “dreaded filming” in season three – the one in which Rhaenyra attempts to get Jace’s body moving again.

“There’s such a strange part of our job, which is there is a sort of business, this gentle mirror between story and lived experience,” they said.

“And whenever you shoot something like that, it does mean letting go of a really treasured cast member and friend – and added to which, imagining those things is painful.

“And you don’t really have an option but to commit to that, at least for the period that you’re shooting it.” 

In a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Harry Collett, who played Jace, said of his death: “It’s such a cool way to go. It’s not just brushed under the carpet. It’s very impactful, in such a great and epic episode.

“What a heroic death he gets to have. It’s not just some boring death. I’m very happy with it.” 

He also said he’d been warned about his character’s fate since season one of the show.

“Ryan [Condal, House Of The Dragon’s showrunner] would never do: don’t tell the actor, then get them to the script read-through, and that’s when they find out: ‘What? I’m dead?’” he said.

“Luckily, it’s nothing like that. You find out the fate of the characters when you get cast. Some things may change, but nothing that drastic.”