In a funny and honest interview with Film Inside, Bertie Carvel (Prince Baelor Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) opened up about what it’s really like to film in full medieval armour. And how it gave him a new respect for the daily hardships real knights faced. However he also include a tinge of humour into his answer, maintaining a light-hearted mood.
“It was a bit like being a real medieval knight. You would spend hours and hours wearing heavy armour, waiting for someone to plonk you in the saddle and point you in the right direction and say charge.”
Quick read:
- Bertie Carvel discussed the challenges of shooting in armours for long hours
- He mentioned how it made going to the washroom difficult
- AKOTSK stars got to experience the challenges faced by medieval period knights
Image: HBO
The practical challenges
The biggest problem about wearing armour all-day long was that the simple everyday things became tough.
“So going to the toilet was a challenge,” he said with a laugh.
“I’ve been around the block enough times to know to think about how I’m going to visit the WC during the day, but there are certain practical challenges when you’re wearing full plate mail that no amount of ingenuity can really overcome. So I got a strong bladder by the end of it, let’s put it that way.”
A real taste of knight life
His light-hearted complaint highlighted that the heavy, restrictive armour wasn’t just uncomfortable: it limited movement, made waiting exhausting, and turned basic needs into real problems.
Knights in history dealt with the same issues every day during battles, tournaments, or long marches, with no quick breaks or modern comforts. Carvel’s experience on set gave him firsthand understanding of that endurance. Bertie Carvel’s story turns a funny complaint into a cool insight that even in fantasy, the struggles of medieval life were no joke.
