This House of the Dragon actor once starred in a spicy Russell T Davies gay drama
House of the Dragon actor Freddie Fox once starred in gay drama Cucumber and Banana. (Max/Channel 4)
While TV viewers are seeing actor Freddie Fox strolling the streets of Westeros as Ser Gwayne Hightower in House of the Dragon, they might not remember that he once had a leading role in two of Russell T Davies’ gayest dramas.
British star of stage and screen Fox, 35, is currently playing Ser Gwayne Hightower in Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, having been cast in season two last year.
Ser Gwayne is the arrogant son of Ser Otto (Rhys Ifans), and the brother of Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and fans have watched over the season’s first three episodes as his involvement in the plot has continued to grow.
But long before that he was in Davies’ Cucumber and Banana playing another arrogant – this time, bisexual – character, Freddie Baxter. He went on to play himself in the shows’ educational sister series, Tofu.
Baxter was known for his nihilistic, party-hard lifestyle and penchant for casual sex, after getting chucked out of university. Queer fans of the show (and let’s be honest, the vast majority of the show’s fans were queer) got to see a lot of Freddie, A LOT: he spent much of his time naked and snogging men.
Cucumber and Banana only ran for one series each in 2015, and, sad to say, Fox’s character in House of the Dragon isn’t quite as frisky. Boo!
Fox also starred in hit queer drama film Pride in 2014, alongside Baby Reindeer’s Jessica Gunning, and played prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark in The Crown. Next year, fans will see him cropping up with trans Pose star Indya Moore in The Sandman, where he’ll be playing Loki.
It seems he’s had rather more roles than his cousin, Reclaim Party founder Laurence Fox.
When asked previously asked his own sexuality, he has, perfectly fairly, been reluctant to define it. In 2015, he said he has “had girlfriends, but I wouldn’t wish to say ‘I am this or I am that’, because at some time in my life I might fall in love with a man”.
He hopes to “fall in love with another person, as opposed to a sex”.
When asked about the quote in 2020, Fox said he thinks “sexually rounded” actors have an “advantage” in the industry.
“Being able to say that you have a more-rounded experience as a human being, whether it be through sexuality, or whatever, is now perceived as a real advantage,” he told The Telegraph.
House of the Dragon season two is currently causing a stir thanks to its third episode, in which Saltburn star Ewan Mitchell appeared fully nude.
House of the Dragon season two is available to stream on Max, Sky and Now, with new episodes released weekly.
