Dexter Sol Ansell is 11 years old. He has already appeared in The Hunger Games, received George R. R. Martin's personal approval for his performance in a major HBO series, and is now the youngest person ever to receive an IMDb STARmeter Award.
The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Ansell, who spoke from Ireland, where he is currently shooting the second season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. His head is freshly shaved for the role. His mother, Debbie, sits just off camera during the interview.
Ansell plays Egg, a mischievous squire who is revealed during season one to be Prince Aegon Targaryen. The show is a Game of Thrones spinoff based on George R. R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. Season one premiered on HBO in January and drew strong reviews for Ansell, co-star Peter Claffey, and the series overall.
His path to the role began, improbably, at age four with an audition for the British soap Emmerdale. Since then he has worked steadily, including a role as a young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and an appearance in the 2024 mystery-horror film The Moor.
Meeting Martin was a milestone Ansell still recalls clearly. "He's very happy. He didn't give me any advice. He said, 'You look and sound like you just jumped out of the books.' That was fun," Ansell told The Hollywood Reporter.
The encounter with Steve Carell at HBO Max's U.K. launch party left an equally strong impression. Ansell recounts walking around a corner and finding the comedy star sitting in a chair. He hesitated, then approached. "I was like, 'Should I say hi or should I not? I don't know what to do!' and Mummy went, 'Oh, go on, just say hi,'" he said. "So I creeped over, and then I went, 'Hi,' and he went, 'Omg! I love you! You're amazing!' Steve Carell knows who I am? That was crazy."
The show itself is drawing awards attention. The Hollywood Reporter's Emmy nominations forecast, compiled by executive editor of awards coverage Scott Feinberg, lists A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as a projected nominee for Best Drama Series, alongside The Pitt, Stranger Things, The Diplomat, and others. Emmy nominations are expected to be announced on July 8.
For now, Ansell is back in character, freshly shorn and filming in Ireland, while his friends apparently cannot stop sending a WhatsApp gif of Egg around their group chats.
