Who needs Duolingo when you have Daemon Targaryen?

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House of the Dragon star Matt Smith stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about the first season of the Game of Thrones prequel series on September 16, 2022 — and gave Fallon a High Valyrian tutorial in the process.

After praising Smith for an epic battle scene in which he doesn’t say a word, Fallon asked Smith about speaking High Valyrian, the fictional language he speaks in the HBO fantasy series. This prompted Smith to spout off a couple lines in Valyrian, impressing both The Tonight Show Host and the audience.

“Now play that backwards and it says ‘Paul is dead,'” joked Fallon, referring to the infamous Beatles conspiracy theory.

“It says ‘Jimmy, you’ve got glorious eyes,'” Smith explained. Fallon asked Smith to teach him some High Valyrian, which Smith does — and Fallon picked up rather well.

“That was a good start,” said the actor, impressed. He continued speaking a few more lines, with Fallon repeating them back, eventually asking Smith, “What did I just say?”

“One day, this chair will be mine,” revealed Smith, who was talking about the Iron Throne, but reassured Fallon that he is not coming for his late-night hosting gig.

“Although I’d butcher your job, in truth,” Smith, who famously also played the eleventh Doctor Who, said. “I couldn’t do it. I’d be terrible.”

“You could do anything you want, you have your own dragon!” said Fallon.

With Fallon’s fluency for High Valyrian, maybe he could make a cameo in House of the Dragon Season 3?

Matt Smith during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Episode 1982 on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Photo: Todd Owyoung/NBC

Matt Smith thinks Daemon Targaryen would win in a fight against Jon Snow

When Smith returned to The Tonight Show on June 4, 2024, Fallon asked him to settle a debate happening online that had fans wondering: Who’d win in a fight between Daemon Targaryen and Jon Snow (Kit Harington)?

“Come on, man. Jimmy… Mate, I’ve got a dragon. I’ve got a dragon,” Smith joked.

“Listen, I have a lot of respect for Jon Snow. Jon Snow is a bad boy, don’t get me wrong,” Smith added. “Kit Harington? Lovely man, lovely guy. I have a lot of respect. But don’t get it twisted: I’ve got a dragon.”

Hard to argue with!

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