House of the Dragon star 'loved filming' in Wales for new series

The Welsh landscape has been dubbed a perfect place to film parts of the new series of House of the Dragon, naturally creating a "dragons-esque feeling," according to star Freddie Fox.

He spent time among the "extraordinary beautiful mountains" of north Wales filming the third series of the Game of Thrones prequel, which resumed on Sunday on HBO.

Last summer, the cast and crew returned to the region to film at locations across Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd.

Locations included Beaumaris Pier on Anglesey, Craig Yr Undeb [Union Rock] in Gwynedd, and Ffynon Llugwy, a lake in Eryri National Park - also known as Snowdonia.

Fox said even Eryri's former slate mines had a "storybook " feel to them.

"They have this kind of mythical... suitably dragons-esque feeling to them," he told Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales.

"You feel like you're in a kind of storybook - it's the stuff of legend. I love filming there. I was over-awed on set more or less every day."

Fox plays knight Ser Gwayne Hightower, son of Ser Otto Hightower, played by Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, but said he was disappointed he did not share a scene with Ifans, whose character was formerly know as the Hand of the King.

"It literally breaks my heart because he's an actor I have admired all my life."

He said Ifans was known for being playful and trying to distract actors filming their scenes.

"He is famously naughty and so all I wanted to do is try and be on set with him but, unfortunately, I've had to sort of live on the anecdotes of the other actors."

Fox is also starring in Cole Porter's High Society musical which is in Cardiff in July as part of a UK tour.

He said he'd never played in theatre in the Welsh capital before but knew the city from filming at Wolf Studios which he described as "just amazing".

"It's huge. It's like being in Hollywood," he said.