Graham McTavish has a flair for helping to adapt huge book series for the screen. He is best known for playing war chieftain Dougal MacKenzie in Outlander, based on Diana Gabaldon’s beloved novels. Fans of The Hobbit, which is of course based on JRR Tolkien’s classic story, will also recognise McTavish as Dwalin.

McTavish is currently starring in a brilliant new documentary, Men In Kilts, which sees him go on a road trip around Scotland with former Outlander co-star, Sam Heughan. But he’s also just confirmed that he’s joined the cast for yet another epic show based on a big book series, House Of  The Dragon – the prequel to Game Of Thrones.

Based on George RR Martin’s book Fire & Blood in the Game Of Thrones collection, House Of The Dragon will be set 300 years before the original GOT series and will tell the story of Daenerys Targaryen’s ancestors. 

As per the novel’s synopsis, “Fire And Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.”

Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke and Matt Smith will star in the series, alongside a cast that includes Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Eve Best and Sonoya Mizuno. Last month, fans were treated to some first-look photos, including a glimpse of Smith dressed in his blonde wig for the role of Prince Daemon Targaryen. 

And in an interview with Stylist, McTavish has just addressed the rumours that he will also appear in the soon-to-be hit new series. 

“I’m enjoying that, yes,” he said when asked about the exciting new project. “I’m really having a lot of fun. We’ve just started. It’s a very big project, so we’re getting to know each other. They’re lovely people. It’s great, but I can’t tell you too much. I can’t tell you really anything about the story! But it involves a lot dragons.”

Heughan, who was with McTavish during the interview, joked: “Am I in it?”

Laughing, McTavish replied: “So far, no. And I have been waiting… I have to say ‘Where is Sam?’ because it’s always in my contract now.”

Although his role is yet to be revealed, fans have been quick to try and work out who McTavish will play. As reported in the Radio Times, the actor was “spotted in full costume on the House Of The Dragon set in Cornwall, sparking rumours he would be playing Harrold Westerling, the lord commander of the kingsguard.”

Explaining more about the character, the report describes him as: “The commander and longest-serving member of the kingsguard who still remembers the lustre of the storied Seven Knights. A once powerful knight and a successful military background, so a man with presence and status. Given the responsibility to the king to watch over and guard the princess. In the current regime, where widespread peace has led to complacency and indulgence, he feels something of a loss of purpose, but nevertheless serves the king with a fierce, if quiet, loyalty.”

We don’t have too long to wait for the mysteries around the new series to unravel, as winter will come once more pretty soon. House of the Dragon is set to air on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK sometime in 2022.

Images: Starz, HBO