Daniel Scott-Smith as the Crabfeeder in House of the Dragon. The Crabfeeder wears a mask and no shirt.

‘House of the Dragon’: Daniel Scott-Smith Confirms the Crabfeeder Has Greyscale

The Crabfeeder from 'House of the Dragon' is afflicted by greyscale, which could have affected his mental state.

by Erica Scassellati

Published on September 6, 2022

2 min read

What is greyscale in ‘Game of Thrones’?

In Game of Thrones, greyscale is a dangerous disease that causes the skin’s surface to harden and calcify. It is often fatal, but those who survive greyscale are left scarred for life by their damaged skin.

Princess Shireen Baratheon had caught the disease as a baby but was cured before it could kill her. Jorah Mormont is the only character in Game of Thrones to make a full recovery from greyscale.

It’s also important to note that greyscale is a slow-spreading, infectious disease. Those who are afflicted are referred to as Stone Men. The disease will eventually cover all of the victim’s skin and later turn to attack the body’s internal organs. If a person with greyscale survives long enough for the disease to reach their brain, it can result in insanity.

‘House of the Dragon’ introduced Craghas Drahar, ‘The Crabfeeder’

In Fire & Blood, the Triarchy is the alliance of three of the Free Cities of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. The Crabfeeder led the Triarchy’s forces in conquering the Stepstones from the pirates covering the Island.

However, the Stepstones are an important trade route, and the Crabfeeder’s greed eventually led him to drive up the tolls for safe passage to extremely high levels.

Craghas Drahar earned his nickname from his gruesome practice of staking pirates out on beaches so that the crabs could feast on them as the tide came in. The Crabfeeder also has a distinctive appearance in House of the Dragon.

Daniel Scott-Smith confirms the Crabfeeder has greyscale

According to Daniel Scott-Smith, his character has greyscale. “Craghas Drahar is seen as the bad guy, but for any bad character, there’s always got to be a journey of how they got to that point,” he told Entertainment Weekly. The actor discussed the Crabfeeder as a character with episodes 2 and 3 director Greg Yaitanes.

“We wanted to remember that there’s two sides to him. So we spoke about the idea of him being a prince, or that he calls himself a prince, so he came from some sort of higher House,” Scott-Smith continued. “We spoke about that and the gradual decline to where he is, how the greyscale might affect him physically, even mentally.”

It’s possible that the greyscale has already caused the Crabfeeder to become a more brutal and savage character. The actor added, “We wanted to show the more prince, royal side, but then we also wanted to show the more feral side, which came through when he holds the hammer. We wanted the idea of the hammer turning him into more of a beastly character.”