Fatherhood has been a significant theme in Abubakar Salim’s recent work. From 2020 to 2022, he portrayed Father, an android raising human children on planet Kepler-22b in Raised by Wolves. In 2024, his video game studio Surgent Studios released Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a side-scroller about a shaman on a quest to revive his father. Drawing on his own grief for his late father, Salim described the game as a tribute to him at the 2023 Game Awards. Now, in House of the Dragon, Salim plays Alyn of Hull, the bastard son of Corlys Velaryon and brother to dragonrider Addam. Their relationship starts off distant, resembling more of a boss-employee dynamic. However, as the series progresses, Corlys begins to pay more attention to Alyn, eventually appointing him as his first mate and giving him important tasks. In an interview with Mashable, Salim discussed the parallels between his work on Zau and House of the Dragon, the complex relationship between Alyn and Corlys, and the emotional depth of their interactions.
