In the first episodes of the Game Of Thrones spin-off House Of The Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen is a teenager and is played by Milly Alcock. Thanks to several time jumps, Rhaenyra will age a few years over the course of the first season – and then be embodied by Emma D’Arcy. At this point, we won’t tell you exactly when the time will come, so as not to spoil you, but we have broken down the jumps in time in a separate article for you.
Now, one would assume that before filming the fantasy series, Alcock and D’Arcy met and talked about their character. After all, they play the same woman – a young princess who is reluctantly made heir to the throne by her father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), for lack of male heirs, only to see him marry her best friend Alicent (Emily Carey) and… still hoping for a son with her.
In an interview with Hollywood reporters However, Milly Alcock reveals that she was advised against dating Emma D’Arcy by House Of The Dragon showrunner and director Miguel Sapochnik. By the way, he will no longer act as showrunner from season 2, but will remain in the series as producer, as was surprisingly announced recently. This shouldn’t have anything to do with his advice to Alcock, because it actually sounds quite reasonable…
Alcock reportedthat she and Emma D’Arcy wanted to sit down with Miguel Sapochnik and talk about Rhaenyra’s character development. But the showrunner asked her not to, which surprised her at the moment. Sapochnik’s advice to her was to trust that they both had what it takes to play the role.
HBO
left: Milly Alcock, right: Emma D’Arcy
Why Alcock shouldn’t meet her House Of The Dragon co-star? The actress explains it like this: “I believe, [Miguel Sapochnik] knew we would try to imitate each other.” Since the two women weren’t able to share their work, it’s safe to say that they both act naturally and bring their own unique flavor to Rhaenyra – and that makes sense despite being the same character. Because the adult Rhaenyra has gone through a development and experienced a lot, and it is only natural if she no longer quite resembles her younger counterpart in her appearance and actions.
The first two episodes of “House Of The Dragon” are already available on Sky and WOW, episode 3 will follow on the night of September 4th to 5th, 2022. According to Sky, the episode will be at 3:00 a.m. German time parallel to the US premiere shown on Sky Atlantic, from 4.00 a.m. it will also be available on Sky Q and WOW (formerly Sky Ticket).
