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Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 7 of Game of Thrones.
When Dickon Tarly appeared in Season 7 of Game of Thrones, you'd be forgiven if you thought, Who? A character who doesn't have much heft in the Song of Ice and Fire books, Dickon first showed up in Season 6, when his older brother, Samwell, brought Gilly home to meet the family. (It didn't go well.)
Suddenly in Season 7, Dickon was everywhere, and played by a new actor—Tom Hopper, taking over for Freddie Stroma. Alas, Dickon was not long for this world, because he bravely defied Daenerys Targaryen, siding with his father, Lord Randyll Tarly, instead. He refused to bend the knee, and was burnt to a crisp by a dragon as a consequence. Ouch.
Despite his brief run, Dickon became a fan favorite and the subject of countless memes, especially after Bronn chuckled at his name. Dickon was inexperienced in battle and maybe not too bright, but he was brave and proud—until the very end. As for Hopper, he's just thrilled to have gone out in a literal blaze of glory. Here, he reflects on about his time on the show and all the memes about that name. (It's okay to laugh.)
When you signed on to play Dickon, what did you know about the character going into it?
Only really what my friend Freddie had already done in Season 6. When I first read for the part, they use alias names for the auditions, so I didn't know that was the role I was going for. I didn't know my name was going to be Dickon. When I was on set, I thought, Is it actually Dickon? Surely it's not Dickon. When I introduced myself, I went with Dick-in, instead of Dick-on. And the producers were like, no no, it is actually Dickon.
Ever since I first got introduced on the show, it's been this onslaught of people ripping me for this name, Dickon. I think that's the thing with Game of Thrones, it comes with such a ridiculously big following, it's hard not to have some kind of fan reaction, I suppose, when you're on it.
What was it like to learn your character was going to die?
To be honest, when I took the role I had a feeling that he was probably going to [die], because it was Game of Thrones. It's fine, because I think you go into a show like that, and as long as you have a good run, you get a few episodes out of it, it's great, it's a bonus. I had a great time on it, and I had a few episodes there where I got to do a lot of good stuff. I was very fortunate, I thought.
What was it like to film the scene where you were burned to death?
What's brilliant about Game of Thrones is they have amazing extras. They're so committed, and these guys in particular were great. Their fear of the dragons and their fear of kneeling down and me not kneeling down created a really good scene. When we actually shot the thing with a dragon, we had a big green ball where the dragon was supposed to be and everything. We were told to imagine that we were facing a firing squad, and I thought the way it turned out was brilliant.
If you've got to go, being burned by a dragon is a pretty good way to go out.
It's a pretty cool way to go. When I read that, I thought, I'll take that. I'll take that all day long.
There's not much in the books about Dickon as a character. What do you think his life was like when he wasn't shown on screen?
Because Sam is the way Sam is, I thought it would be great if Dickon was like that "top sportsman at school" kind of idea. He's had the best education, but actually he's still a young guy who's being thrown into battle, he's still got to find his way. He's handy with a sword, but he's still young and learning his way.
Dickon quickly became a fan favorite online this season. How did you react when you noticed you became a figure of fascination?
My wife was the first one who pointed it out. I didn't notice it, but she's a bit more active online than I am. There's ones on his name, and there's the intensely gratuitous things that have been said about his name and linked to me. It's been great and really fun to see that reaction. My last part in Black Sails was called Billy Bones, so with Billy Bones and Dickon, between the two it's the funniest name you can make.
Do you have any theories about how the show will end?
Not really, actually. Well, in Season 8, they're only doing six episodes, and there have to be a couple of battles in there. I imagine the White Walkers are going to have something to do with it. I think Jaime is going to kill Cersei, actually, that's probably my theory of where it's heading. But I don't know. That's what's great about Game of Thrones – if you avoid the spoilers you can get shocked at every corner.
You've been in shows about fantasy a lot, from "Merlin" to "Black Sails" to "Game of Thrones." What attracts you to roles like this, and why do you think they work for you?
I think it's my physicality. I enjoy doing those things, I enjoy doing the fight scenes. Maybe it goes with being sleeveless in a lot of things. It always ends up that I'm sleeveless! But I wasn't in Game of Thrones, which was different for me. It was odd not being sleeveless, but it was quite cold in Spain [where we filmed] so I had some sleeves on for a change. I end up matching up with a lot of these projects, but in my future projects, I'm looking into things that are more modern day, slightly different genres next time. One is called Climber which is really good. I'm playing Gary Hemming, who was a real-life climber.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I don't think so, just a thank you to all the fans who say hilarious things about Dickon! All the support I've had has been amazing.
