Matt Smith has spoken out against trigger warnings in TV shows, saying: “It’s OK to feel uncomfortable or be provoked” by art.
Speaking to The Times, the House Of Dragon star suggested that flagging potentially upsetting content was dumbing down storytelling for audiences.
“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 dialled and dumbed down. We’re telling audiences they’re going to be scared before they’ve watched something.”
Smith, who is next set to appear in the 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 relation to Doctor Who, the BBC series 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.”
Smith isn’t the only actor to speak out against trigger warnings this year. Judi Dench previously said that she was surprised to learn that audiences are routinely warn about potentially distressing content, including abuse, violence, and loud noises.
Ralph Fiennes, meanwhile, recently told the Independent theatregoers had “gone soft”, adding: “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. It’s the shock, it’s the unexpected, that’s what makes an act of theatre so exciting.”
Smith will return for a third season of HBO‘s Game Of Thrones spin-off, House Of The Dragon, with new episodes expected to arrive in 2026.
The second season recently aired its finale, which drew criticism from fans due to the story’s lack of progress.
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