76 | AUGUST 25 • 2022 

House of the Dragon, 
Exploring More Roots, 
New Netflix Comedy
The House of the Dragon, 
a 10-episode prequel to 
the mega-hit series Game 
of Thrones (GOT), began 
streaming (HBO) on Aug. 
21. It is set 200 years 
before the events in GOT. 
As the series opens, the 
Seven Kingdoms (on the 
continent of Westeros) are 
ruled by Viserys, a popular 
king. He is the fifth member 
of the Targaryen family to 
rule the Seven Kingdoms. 
The Targaryen conquest 
of Westeros and their 
subsequent rule was made 
possible by the Targaryens’ 
fire-breathing dragons. The 
dragons have a “mystical” 
tie to the family.
The pilot episode 
was directed by Miguel 
Sapochnik, 48. He was 
born in the U.K., the son of 
Argentine Jewish parents. 
Sapochnik was the “go-
to” director for the most 
spectacular GOT battle 
episodes.
As with GOT, most of 
the cast is British. The 
recurring cast includes 
David Horovitch, 76, as 
Grand Maester Mellos, a 
trusted adviser to Viserys. 

GOT fans know that a 
“Maester” is a scholar and/
or scientist on the King’s 
payroll.
Horovitch is a busy 
British character actor. 
He’s the son of a Jewish 
father and a non-Jewish 
mother and was raised 
without religion. However, 
he has played several 
Jewish roles and, through 
them, he says, he’s learned 
something about Judaism.
Fabien Frankel, 28, 
another Brit, and a good-
looking fellow, plays Ser 
Christin Cole, an important 
regular cast member. 
Ser Christin rose from a 
“commoner” background 
to knighthood and he’s a 
great swordsman. (In real 
life, Frankel is a trained 
fencer).
Frankel has so few acting 
credits that Wikipedia 
lists him as a cast 
“regular,” but provides no 
biography at all. Well, some 
digging reveals Frankel’s 
interesting background 
and some very sad details. 
Fabien’s father was (the 
very handsome) actor Mark 
Frankel. He was killed in a 
motorcycle/truck accident 
in 1996, age 34.
Mark was on the cusp 
of a really big career — he 
had just started getting 
star roles in major British 
TV series. He was also a 

world-class tennis player 
who won the Monte Carlo 
Open. Frankel had a 
Jewish funeral.
Mark’s mother was an 
Indian Jew from Mumbai. 
His English Jewish father 
served as a pilot in the 
Royal Air Force. Mark and 
his brother, Joe, were also 
skilled pilots. Joe did stunt 
flying and was killed (1991) 
during an air show.
Fabien was 2 years old 
when his father died, and 
his only sibling, a brother, 
was born posthumously. 
I don’t know much 
about Caroline Besson, 
the brothers’ mother 
and Mark’s widow. She 
is French, was an ad 
company executive and 
has remarried. 
House of the Dragon is 
based on Fire and Blood, a 
2018 novel by GOT novels 
writer George R.R. Martin. 
Martin was on the PBS 
ancestry show, Finding 
Your Roots in 2019 and it 
was revealed that Martin’s 
paternal grandfather was 
not a Catholic Italian-
American as Martin was 
told. DNA proved that his 
paternal grandfather was 
an “unknown” Jewish guy. 
I thought of this when, last 
week, Roots announced 
its celebrity lineup for its 
next season. The list is 
laden with big name stars. 

I wonder if any of those 
celebs will have a “Jewish 
reveal,” too?
The ninth season of 
Roots will premiere next 
January. Here’s the list: 
Richard Kind, 65, David 
Duchovny, 62, Julia 
Roberts, Michigander Jeff 
Daniels, Claire Danes, Viola 
Davis, Carol Burnett and 
Edward Norton.
Kind is a busy comedic 
character actor (Spin City, 
Mad About You, Curb Your 
Enthusiasm) who happens 
to be the least-known 
actor on this list. Not so, 
Duchovny, who has been 
a star since he got a lead 
role (1993) in the hit TV 
series The X-Files. He’s the 
secular son of a Jewish 
father and a non-Jewish 
mother. 
Me Time is an original 
Netflix flick that premieres 
on Aug. 26. Here’s the 
“official” description: 
“When a stay-at-home dad 
(Kevin Hart) finds himself 
with some ‘me time’ for the 
first time in years while his 
wife and kids are away, he 
reconnects with his former 
best friend (Mark Wahlberg) 
for a wild weekend that 
nearly upends his life.”
The film was written 
and directed by John 
Hamburg, 52. He has 
written several hit comedic 
films, including Meet the 
Parents and its sequel, 
Little Fockers; Along 
Came Polly and I Love You 
Man. The last two he also 
directed. 
I have to note that his 
most recent films (Why Him 
and Night School) did fine 
at the box office but were 
panned by critics. They 
only had a scene or two 
that made the “discerning” 
filmgoer really laugh. I 
hope that Me Time is a 
return to form. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

HBO

David Horovitch

IMDb

Fabien 
Frankel

Wikipedia

Richard Kind