‘I’m outacted by a nine-year-old’: Matt Smith on House

His incestuous, sadistic prince in House of the Dragon has become the baddy we love to hate. Here, he talks about why his character is like Nigel Farage, turning his back on Hollywood – and how he fell in love with Prince Philip

Matt Smith keeps trophies from his acting career. He’s particularly proud of the talking Cyberman head from his breakthrough role as the Eleventh Doctor from 2009 to 2013. “I’ve got my costumes tucked away too. I won’t even fit into them now.” I’m disappointed to learn, though, that Smith didn’t keep the fez that led to the best line Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat wrote for him, namely: “Fezzes are cool.” “Fezzes are cool,” Smith deadpans to me now. “That came about because I said it would be good if the Doctor wore a hat, so he kept writing more and more outlandish hats for me to wear.”

Smith’s latest trophy is the sword of Daemon Targaryen, the blond-haired, sadist, misogynist and power-crazed antihero of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, which returns this week.