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Hello Ser Criston Cole! The handsome Dornish swordsman was introduced in the first episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon. Ser Criston defeats Prince Daemon Targaryen at a jousting tournament and flirts with King Viserys’s daughter, Princess Rhaenerya. Ser Criston is the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven and has no claim to land or titles. He’s played by Fabian Frankel, 28, in the series. Here’s everything you need to know about Fabian, including his connection to GOT alum Emilia Clarke.

Fabian’s father was an actor.

Fabian was born to British actor Mark Frankel and French advertising executive Caroline Besson. Mark was best known for his roles in the British movie Leon the Pig Farmer and the US tv series Kindred: The Embraced. He died in a car accident at 34 years old on September 24, 1996. Fabien was only two years old when his father passed, and his mom Caroline was pregnant with his younger brother Max.

He went to drama school in London.

Fabian took a one-year Foundation Course at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), before attending London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Acting.

His acting career started with a theater production.

Fabian secured his first professional acting gig shortly after he graduated from drama school. He was in the 2017 theater production The Knowledge at the Charing Cross Theater in London. Fabian left the show by the end of the year and moved on to working in movies and television.

He did a Christmas movie with Emilia Clarke.

Fabian’s first film was the 2019 holiday rom-com Last Christmas, which coincidentally starred GOT alum Emilia Clarke. As fans know, Emilia is famous for playing Daenerys Targaryen, a descendant of the Targargeyns who are featured in House of the Dragon. In Last Christmas, Emilia plays a Christmas store worker who falls for a mysterious man played by Henry Golding.

He wants to work in directing.

While Fabian is on the rise in his acting career, he’s expressed interest in working behind-the-scenes on movies. “I would really love to direct,” he told Variety, days before the premiere of House of the Dragon. “I actually think that in some ways, I’m more meant to direct than I am to act,” Fabian added.