House of the Dragon armourer reveals how he makes fight scenes look real

Image source, Theo Whiteman/HBO Image caption, Aaron had to make plastic swords and axes look real By Antonia Matthews BBC Wales Published 13 July 2026 Updated 5 hours ago A blacksmith has described the surreal experience of repairing swords and painting background weapons on the set of the Game of Thrones prequel. Series two and three of House of the Dragon were filmed around north Wales and Aaron Houghton worked as an armourer on set, making sure all the actors looked authentic in the fighting scenes. Based on George RR Martin's epic fantasy novel A Song of Ice and Fire, House of the Dragon stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke. Aaron is now combining working on the sets of productions when they come to the area with using his blacksmith skills to teach people how to make knives, swords and axes. Image source, Courtesy of HBO and Creative Wales Image caption, Aaron also helped with repairs on set, making sure the actors looked authentic He is currently working as an armourer for Excalibur, a fantasy feature film from Wales. "You have up to 500 people on one project going on, they're all there, it's like a moving village," said Aaron, from Betws-y-Coed, Conwy county. "Working on set is absolutely surreal, but in an amazing kind of way. "A lot of people get starstruck with these actors but they're just people you're working with. " Image source, Theo Whiteman/HBO Image caption, House of Dragon was filmed around north Wales, with the mountains providing the backdrop to some scenes House of the Dragon filming came to Wales after the show received funding from Creative Wales , external - which provides financial backing to attract major productions to Wales. Set about 200 years before Game of Thrones, it chronicles a catastrophic civil war and brutal struggle for power. Aaron put in an application for one of the six shadowing places and ended up working full-time in the armoury team. Image source, Courtesy of HBO Image caption, The show is based on George RR Martin's epic fantasy novel A Song of Ice and Fire The paid placement ran for two months from mid-May to July in 2023, and he was asked back for series three in 2025. Released in June, the cast includes Happy Valley star James Norton and Wales' Rhys Ifans. Filming took him from sets in the Trefor granite quarry on the Llyn peninsula to the Dinorwig slate quarry near Llanberis in Eryri to smaller locations including Beaumaris. Image source, Courtesy of HBO and Creative Wales Image caption, Aaron Houghton studied metal work at college and teaches blacksmithing In his teens Aaron was an avid martial artist, and became fascinated with historical European martial arts - which use centuries-old techniques using special swords. Medieval and Renaissance duelling was given a boost by its depiction in fantasy novels and films, and is also popular with people interested in military history. Aaron started teaching historical forms of combat but couldn't afford to pay for the specialist equipment fo