House of the Dragon's Steve Toussaint 'racially abused' over role in Game of Thrones franchise

Steve Toussaint plays Corlys Velaryon in House of the Dragon, the new Game of Thrones prequel. Photo / Getty Images

Actor Steve Toussaint has been "racially abused on social media" after signing on to star in House of the Dragon, the new Game of Thrones prequel.

The 57-year-old is a British actor of Barbadian descent and plays Corlys Velaryon. He has admitted he initially underestimated the response to his casting as the first prominent person of colour in the franchise and has had to deal with vile trolls in the aftermath.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: "When I got the gig, I literally was like, 'It's just another role because I have black friends who had small parts or recurring parts in [Thrones].'

"I didn't realise it was a bigger deal until I was racially abused on social media when it was announced. Yeah, that s*** happened."

Steve Toussaint in a scene from House of Dragon. Photo / HBO

He explained how one fan shared "an artist impression of the Sea Snake" alongside his photo and seemed dismayed.

He continued: "Then someone else referred to me by the N-word – that was in reply to a director I had worked with who wrote, 'Steve Toussaint is great' and they said, 'No, Steve Toussaint is a …'

"There was also a black American chap who is a big fan of the show who contacted me saying that he gets abuse because he championed me for the part.

"And on platforms like Reddit, which I'm not on, there are such discussions going on about it. I was like, 'Oh wow,' and then I thought, 'Okay, this means a lot to some people, but I can't allow that to bother me.' "

He noted that he's sadly seen friends suffer similar abuse for various roles, but he insisted it's important not to dwell on things even when "it's a big deal".

He explained: "Someone I've known for a long time, he had it [when he was cast on a Marvel project]. A friend of mine who played Hermione in the stage version of Harry Potter, she got it.

"I've worked with [Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor] John Boyega, and he got it. If it bothers you so much, don't watch.

"So I suppose in that sense, it's a big deal. But we have a saying that today's headlines are just tomorrow's chip paper; people forget about it."