‘House Of The Dragon’ Star Matt Smith Bemoans “Policing” Of Stories Through Trigger Warnings

Jake Kanter
·2 min read

Matt Smith, star of House of the Dragon and The Crown, has doubled down on his criticism of trigger warnings.

In an interview with The Times of London, the actor, who shot to fame in Doctor Who, said that flagging potentially upsetting content was dumbing down storytelling for audiences.

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“Too much policing of stories and being afraid to bring them out because a climate is a certain way is a shame. I’m not sure I’m on board with trigger warnings,” Smith said.

“It’s OK to feel uncomfortable or provoked while looking at a painting or watching a play, but I worry everything’s being dialed and dumbed down. We’re telling audiences they’re going to be scared before they’ve watched something.”

Smith, who is starring in British horror film Starve Acre, recalled renting Slither, Basic Instinct, Disclosure, and Friday the 13th when he was “too young.” He joked that the latter “absolutely ruined me.”

Smith previously commented on trigger warnings in the context of Doctor Who, the BBC and Disney+ sci-fi franchise in which he starred for four years.

“I always thought that was one of the great things of doing Doctor Who,” he told the BBC in February. “That you scared children, in a controlled way, but you did scare them. Imagine you go to kids watching Doctor Who, ‘By the way, this might scare you.’ No, I’m not into it.”

Several British actors have spoken out about trigger warnings this year. Judi Dench said she was surprised to learn that theater audiences were routinely being warned about potentially distressing content, including abuse, violence, and loud noises.

Ralph Fiennes said theatergoers had “gone soft” in an interview with the BBC. “The impact of theatre should be that you’re shocked, and should be that you’re disturbed, I don’t think you should be prepared for these things,” Fiennes said. “It’s the shock, it’s the unexpected, that’s what makes an act of theatre so exciting.”

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