Steve Toussaint, who plays Corlys Velaryon, has shared a thoughtful breakdown of how Season 3 challenges his character’s long-held ideas about legacy. In an interview with Pop Base, Toussaint explained Corlys’ evolving perspective as the war intensifies.
Quick read:
- Corlys is rethinking the concept of legacy since he’s lost everything now
- He realises Alyn and Addam are the only way to carry his legacy forward
- Since he can’t offer anything else, he wants to give them his name
Rethinking what legacy really means
Toussaint described how Corlys’ view of legacy changes dramatically:
“The way he thought of legacies before, he has to rethink what a legacy is. Prior to what happens in Season 3, his idea of a legacy was, ‘This is what I’ve built, and this is what I will pass on to my children’ — this structure that is a monument to me, so that when people walk into my house and into the Hall of Nine, they see me and all the stuff that I did.”
Corlys had always seen his legacy in grand achievements; ships, power, and monuments. But the events of Season 3 force him to confront a more personal truth.
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Legacy is your children
The actor emphasized the emotional shift:
“But actually, and I speak not as a parent, your legacy is your children. They are the bits of you, your DNA, that carry on into the world. I think, having been bereft of all of those things, he has to go, ‘What have I got left?’ Well, I have my reputation and I have my children, and I need to make sure they are healthy and safe in this world because I can’t give them anything else.”
He continued,
“As he says in the episode, ‘All I can give you is my name.’ That’s it, and that’s the most precious thing because that’s who we are. I don’t think he dismisses the idea of legacy at all. He just rethinks the nature of it.”
This realization comes after significant loss, pushing Corlys to prioritize his remaining children’s well-being and the family name above all else. Corlys’ evolution adds depth, showing him as a man grappling with mortality, regret, and what truly matters in the end.
