House of the Dragon's star Fabien Frankel limits Instagram comments after harassment from fans

Fabien Frankel, the actor who plays Ser Criston Cole in ‘House of the Dragon,’ has limited the comments on his Instagram account after being victim of cyberbullying. Fans of the series have flooded his social media’s comment section with insults due to his role in the show.

Frankel’s character in the series has been one of the most divisive, especially as he change his loyalties from being a friend, ally and, even lover, of Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) to being one of his sworn enemies and helping Alicent (Olivia Cooke) to usurp the throne.

However, it seems like some fans of the fantasy show are having a hard time separating the actor from the character. The news first were reported on X (formerly Twitter) by famous account @DiscussingFilm, which shared a capture of the hate the actor was receiving:

Fabien Frankel shares cheeky Instagram story despite the hate

While the actor was receiving hateful comments, he has stayed positive on his Instagram story, sharing a picture with (spoilers!) Luke Tittensor and Elliott Tittensor, who played twins Arryk and Erryk, who in the series ended up killing each other in the second episode of Season 2. “Sorry, boys! Love ya!,” he wrote in the caption.

Not everything is bad news for the actor, as many fans also jumped out in his defense both on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). In some publications where fans can still comment, many have shared positive comments.

“Imagine harassing an actor because of a role they play… Some of you guys really need to get a life. He’s an actor doing a great job at playing a character that we love to hate. Great job, Fabien!” a user wrote under one of his posts.

Back in 2022, while promoting the first season, Frankel described Cole as a character who has been “washed off” due to the “sourness and bitterness” of his world. “You are your surroundings; you are the people you’re surrounded by. Ser Criston happens to be surrounded by an incredibly ambitious group of very Machiavellian human beings whose sole ambition is power,” he explained to The New York Times.