House of the Dragon actor Milly Alcock has shared her thoughts on her role as the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and what shocked her while filming season 1 of the Game of Thrones prequel show. Alcock was previously known for her role as Ella in Phoebe Tonkin’s directional debut Furlough (2021). She dropped out of her senior year at Sydney’s Newtown High School of the Performing Arts to pursue her acting career and join the cast of TV drama Upright, for which she won the Casting Guild of Australia's 2018 Rising Star Award.
Being just 10 years old when the original Game of Thrones aired on HBO, Alcock had never seen the show, though the now 22-year-old actress knew that her audition for an unknown House of the Dragon character called “YR” would be her biggest opportunity and potential breakthrough yet. Only after auditioning and then landing the role did she find out who she would be playing in her first major American role. With House of the Dragon now finally premiered, Alcock is looking back on landing the part and the surprises of the show.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, House of the Dragon star Milly Alcock recalled what shocked her about season 1 of the Game of Thrones prequel. The young Rhaenyra actor shared how she learned she was cast, having been with a friend and having to keep the news to herself, and being further surprised to learn the size of her role. See what Alcock shared below:
I got the call and I obviously couldn’t tell anyone and I just kind of like sank to the ground. I asked my friend if he had any wine and I couldn’t really tell him why. He thought something really awful had happened. He was like: ‘Someone’s sick, someone’s dead, something catastrophic has happened.’ I couldn’t tell anyone for so long. I was surprised [by the size of the role]. I was just really shocked.
After learning of her casting, Alcock rushed to prep for House of the Dragon filming by quickly binging Game of Thrones, her first time watching the beloved fantasy drama. The young Rhaenyra actor also recalled her surprise at seeing the sheer scale of the production on the HBO Max series, comparing it to the shows of her past in which their entire budget was "less than one episode of [HoTD]." Given the popularity of the Game of Thrones franchise and what is often a minor part in other projects, it's understandable Alcock would be shocked by the size of her role in House of the Dragon season 1.
Since House of the Dragon’s debut in late August, Alcock has received considerable praise for her performance as a young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, so much so that mourning has already begun among fans for her and Carey before their departure, where they will be replaced by their older counterparts due to the show’s time jump. While Game of Thrones had the luxury of eight years for their actors to mature naturally, the prequel’s time jump is necessary to include the key parts of the Targaryen civil war. Fortunately, Rhaenyra and Alicent are the only two characters being recast, and with a House of the Dragon season 2 already confirmed, the door does currently seem open for the Alcock and Carey to return in the show's future.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter