The actor tells PEOPLE about the “fast and violent” behind-the-scenes process to make those spectacular sequences come to life

NEED TO KNOW

• House of the Dragon star Tom Glynn-Carney reveals what filming a dragon-riding scene entails
• “It’s very satisfying being up on the buck and having the wind machines blast you to bits,” he tells PEOPLE
• New episodes of House of the Dragon drop Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO

For dragon riding to look as realistic as it does onscreen in House of the Dragon, the show’s actors are put through the wringer.

There are a dozen dragons and dragonriders in the Game of Thrones prequel series, including, of course, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), both of whom have been vying for the Iron Throne against each other since their father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), died in season 1.

Aegon’s dragon riding days appear to be over after a vicious attack by his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his dragon Vhagar, but Glynn-Carney tells PEOPLE that filming those spectacular sequences was quite the process.

“It’s very satisfying being up on the buck and having the wind machines blast you to bits,” he says.

Breaking down what those scenes entail, Glynn-Carney, 31, says he would typically film on a stage with a “collection of screens that make a semicircle around you, and they give you perspective on where you are and what you’re flying past and what’s coming towards you.”

“For example, the [Rook’s Rest] scene where the fight in the air, the fireball would come at me from a certain angle, and I could see that [on the screen] actually, in real-time, happening,” he reveals.

It’s by all means a very immersive experience. “The cameras are on these crazy cranes that move at the speed of light. They’re so fast and violent, but it’s great. You’re fully in it.”

“There’s sound, and there’s wind, and there’s shouting on megaphones, and it’s all quite chaotic, but you’re in the eye of the storm, really,” Glynn-Carney adds.

The death of Aegon’s dragon, Sunfyre, and his debilitating injuries from Aemond’s attack was a “catalytic moment in his trajectory,” Glynn-Carney says of his character.

“There’s an interesting dynamic there with the feelings that he has towards Rhaenyra and the feelings that he has towards Aemond, and they’re both kind of vying for the top spot.”

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His main objective “has to be regaining the Iron Throne, regaining power, getting what is rightfully his,” the actor says. But right now, “Aemond feels more like a pressing matter.”

“He’s the more urgent issue at the moment because he’s the one actually making waves to try and find Aegon and do him some damage, and it’s whoever gets to the other person first, I guess.”

New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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