Harry Collett
Laura Klonowski | 30/06/2026
A former child actor of the West End, Englishman Harry Collett has found wider fame as an adult during his time on the BBC medical drama Casualty, the 2020 Dolittle movie as Tommy Stubbins and most recently, it’s hard not to be aware, as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, for which he has starred since 2022.
You see, it’s his role in the House of the Dragon franchise that has allowed him to showcase his acting ability and even afforded him new opportunities. Having just returned from Cannes and Monaco, Harry’s excited as he embarks on season 3’s press tour for Season 3 of House of the Dragon.
“We’re on the press tour, it’s Texas, then back to London and then to Sicily, Stockholm, Berlin and New York. It’s very niche, but I love it”
As the tour got underway ahead of the new series, Collett is ready for fans to see where his character left off and the changes in Jace’s temperament, with Harry teasing his storyline arc: “I think he’s reached a boiling point now. Throughout season two, we saw him just get progressively angrier every time, and I feel like he's been left to the side and sort of just disregarded because of his age and also the fact that his mother is extremely protective because she’s already lost a child. I think for Jace, it’s the fact that he needs to prove himself and he needs to be heard and not just seen, and I feel like in this season, he really will do anything to accomplish that, and it’s not an easy thing to do, because he’s got everything going on around him, but he is going to get what he wants this season, and he is going to do everything in his power to pursue that”
It's that evolution of his character in season 3 that really excites Harry and gives him something to really get stuck into: “I think they wrote Jace in such a powerful sort of tone this season; he’s not acting like a child anymore. He’s acting like a king, which is so sick to play, because I’ve been stuck in this sort of rut, where he’s getting turned down every time and being treated like a child, but now he is actually being treated and acting like a king, so that was very, very different to last season, and it was very, very interesting to play as well”.
For Harry, exploring Jace’s more confident side has allowed him to really develop as a character in the new season, coming from real-life experiences as he learns to be bold enough to go after what he wants; “I think it reaches a point. Even in everyday life, we experience this where you hold back about saying something, and when you do say something, you get turned down, and then it reaches a point where you're just like, you know what, fuck this, I’m just gonna do it, I’m gonna say it. I think he’s tried everything possible, and he’s tried every sort of reason not to act like this, and now he’s super confident he thinks maybe they’ll take me seriously if I actually do it, instead of just asking, Is this okay?”
It’s the complexity between Harry’s and his on-screen mother’s relationship that we see change throughout, as Jace takes on more responsibility throughout the storyline, something that clearly excites Harry, as I notice a twinkle in his eye.
“I think that he has stepped up and stepped into a sort of father-like shoes this season, instead of being the son, and I feel like it was quite nice, because in season one, there was a lot going on, and in season two, we got to experience a lot of him and Rhaenyra’s relationship in a sort of mother and son setting. You don’t see that with any other characters really in the show, because the green side of the family doesn’t really have that aspect about them at all, so I feel it was quite nice to play around with that last season, and definitely this season as well. As much as they’ve got all this crazy stuff going on, they’re still family at the end of the day, and they really, really care about each other, and a mother and son relationship - you’re gonna argue, you’re gonna bicker. But at the end of the day, you will always love each other and they’re going to do everything they can to keep you safe and to make sure you make the right decisions in life. I feel like this season, you really, really get to see that”.
But for Harry there’s an importance around Jace and the importance he places on integrity, has his core values and beliefs that ring true to the book series: “I think he will always have his morals because Jace, as a person, has a heart, even as it is stated in the book, he is made to be king, you know, I mean, he has all these great qualities, and it definitely comes into play with the confidence, he’s quite a bit less reactive, but I think that depends on the setting. I feel like he holds back a lot in respect of his mother, not for anything else, he doesn’t care about any other people on that painted table, he just cares about his mother. But at the end of the day, it’s his mother’s crown on the line, so that’s why he cares, which will affect him in the future, because he’s the heir to the iron throne. Probably the only thing keeping him going was the fact that he knows he’s going to be king one day; he forgets that he’s a bastard through that. That was the thing that he has power over, so I think that he holds back in the right moments, but when it’s time to actually go and do something, he will go and do it”.
Jace is bolder than he’s ever been, even at his own demise. It’s in his choices and learning to step away from the shadows that he really starts to take action. “I have a lot of respect. I think that it gets to a point in life where talking is wonderful, awareness is brilliant, but there has to be some sort of action from it. And I kind of like that he just got to that point where he’s tried everything the nice way, he’s tried to do it the calm way, and he’s like, screw this, I’m gonna do it a different way, because it’s clearly not worked. I’m not a big fan of bullshit, and I like that”.
But it’s the new season, allowing space for this arc around Jace’s character development, that has left so much space for Harry to have fun in filming for the series, thanks to new locations and different scene dynamics offering a more varied experience, which he has loved exploring.
“I definitely had more fun. I love my job, but that painted table room can get quite claustrophobic sometimes, even though it's absolutely huge. I spent the majority of my time there last season, so it was definitely fun to be at different locations and spend more time on the dragon. I got to play not only a different version of the character, but it felt like playing a completely different person because his contrast is so different this season. So the whole experience was definitely more fun, and it really did feel a lot bigger and better than previous seasons. When you were filming it, you could tell this was gonna be good. Even looking at the monitor and the visual effects.”
And as a young actor, Harry is continuing to learn from his talented and experienced castmates such as Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy with his saying of working with them: “It’s lovely, I’ve learned so much, and I feel like I can just even in real-life scenarios, text them for anything. If I have a question about something, or if I’m worried about something, I can always message them, and they will call me, voice note me, or text me. It’s just lovely to have that relationship, and I’m so lucky to have that”
Having spent the best part of 5 years as part of House of the Dragon, especially such formative years on Harry’s behalf, it’s been a space where Harry has grown up and stepped into adulthood. “I’ve grown up on this show because I got cast when I was 17, and now I’m 22. I’ve had real-life problems in that time, and things that you would normally go through as a teenager and a young adult. Obviously I speak to my real mum and dad about that, but then when you’re on set, you’d get your on-screen mum and dad’s opinion, and it’s really nice”.
Fans are in for a treat as season 3 follows the premiere of House of the Dragon. Watch now to see how Harry Collett has really dug deep to develop his character even further.
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