After Ormund Hightower (James Norton) pulled a fast one on the Blacks in Episode 3, we finally meet the real Daeron Targaryen, played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, in “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 4.The 17-year-old actor quickly stands out among the rest of the Valyrian-blooded cast as the only one of Alicent Hightower’s (Olivia Cooke) children not to bear the Targaryen family’s signature platinum hair. Instead, Daeron looks like a Hightower, which is something his cousin and stand-in father-figure Ormund clearly appreciates, given his own distaste for the dragon clan.
Though Ainsworth is young, “House of the Dragon” is not his first major role. You may recognize the actor from his previous turns on shows like the Mike Flanagan Netflix horror series “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” in which he played Miles Wingrave. He appeared in a single episode of Netflix’s “The Sandman” adaptation, playing young Alex Burgess, and he voiced Pinocchio in the 2022 live-action Disney “Pinocchio” remake.
Benjamin Evan Ainsworth is set to play Link in The Legend of Zelda
Canadian TV viewers will likely know Benjamin Evan Ainsworth best for his leading role in the CBC sitcom “Son of a Critch,” which he’s starred in since 2022. The actor also co-starred in the 2025 dramedy film “Everything’s Going to Be Great,” playing opposite Bryan Cranston.
While he’s already accrued a number of notable credits across TV and film, Ainsworth’s next project is the buzzy upcoming live-action “Legend of Zelda” movie, in which he plays Link.
The highly anticipated video game adaptation helmed by “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” director Wes Ball is currently slated for theatrical release on April 30, 2027, as of this writing, with Bo Bragason (“Renegade Nell,” “King & Conqueror”) playing Princess Zelda.
For now, fantasy fans can continue to catch Ainsworth fill out his branch of the Targaryen family tree in “House of the Dragon” Season 3, airing Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
