Bertie Carvel’s portrayal of Prince Baelor Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms stands out partly because the character is a rare honourable Targaryen in a family infamous for changeability and ruthlessness. In a recent interview with IMDb, Carvel explained why that honour carries such emotional weight.
Quick read:
- Bertie Carvel says the only tense that matters in storytelling is the present tense
- He relates storytelling to the metaphor of watching a live animal
- Baelor’s constant choice of doing the right thing makes him honourable
Steffan Hill / HBO
The ‘present tense’ is what matters
Carvel stresses that some of the audience knew Baelor’s reputation only because they had read the books. But for the character himself, and for the storytelling the future always remains open:
“I think the key for me is that it’s not known. It’s known now because people have read the histories as it were. But the crucial tense in storytelling is the present tense and you don’t know what’s going to happen next. And he doesn’t know how he’ll behave from one moment to the next.”
That uncertainty is deliberate. Carvel wanted Baelor to feel alive and unpredictable rather than predestined.
Like watching a live animal
He describes the desired effect in vivid terms:
“You want it to be like watching a live animal that could rip your head off or come for a cuddle. I think that’s what makes it moving.”
The tension comes from the constant possibility that Baelor could swing toward violence, indifference, or self-preservation at any second. The fact that he doesn’t is what gives his choices depth.
Behaviour is character
Carvel ties the idea directly to how people are ultimately judged:
“Each of us has a choice from moment-to-moment about how we’ll behave. And behavior is character. And so how we’ll be remembered or not by history is a function of what we do from one minute to the next.”
Baelor’s decision to stand up for what is right, to live by chivalric values, to protect the vulnerable, to involve himself in a “meaningless small affair” carries genuine meaning because the alternatives were always available.
The power of the road not taken
Carvel highlights the paths Baelor could have followed:
“That he chooses to stand up for what’s right and to live by certain values of chivalry is moving precisely because he might not choose that and he might choose a path of cruelty or disinterest. He might choose to back his family regardless. He might choose not to take an interest in this meaningless small affair. But he does and I like him for [it].”
It is exactly that nearness to cruelty or apathy that makes his honour feel earned rather than automatic. Baelor is not a saint by nature; he is a man with power who keeps choosing decency when easier options present themselves.
Carvel’s performance reminds viewers that true honour is not the absence of temptation; it is the repeated decision to resist it. That is what makes Baelor Breakspear memorable long after the Trial of Seven ends.
