Before Daenerys Targaryen became the famous “Mother of Dragons” in “Game of Thrones,” her grandfather, Princess Rhinera Targaryen, was the first reigning queen of Westeros.
Millie Alcock, 22, who plays Rhaenyra in the first five episodes of the Spinoff series “GoT” “Dragon House” She told The Post that she hadn’t seen “GoT” before she landed the role.
“But of course, I knew that,” she said. “I understood it was very big and very popular. [After getting cast]I watched it to prepare. I immersed myself in the entire eight seasons in two weeks. It was intense, and I quickly became a fan and understood why everyone liked it.”
“Dragon House” (Sundays at 9 pm HBOSet about 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” it follows the ancestors of Daenerys and Jon Snow, the silver-haired Targaryen family riding a dragon. As the series premieres on Sunday, King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) sits on the Iron Throne and has just named his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, as his heir – despite the fact that it’s not customary for women to rule, and his advisors fear this will cast the kingdom in a mess.
Alcock, 22, Australian actress (“joy”) which is now based in London. She was still living at home in her mother’s attic when she got a call that she had landed in the protruding part.
I was in shock and disbelief. It took me until I was actually going through the pre-production process to fully process it, allow myself to get excited about it, and stop feeling like I’m going to be fired,” she said. “The throne room was absolutely gorgeous. Every time you step on the set, the novelty doesn’t fade away.”
Although she enjoyed Emilia Clarke’s performance as Daenerys, she wasn’t inspired by him to play Rhaenyra, she said. “Obviously there are similarities in their basic morals as people do, but in the end they move around the world very differently.”
Instead, she drew inspiration from two other sources.
“Cate Blanchett in ‘Golden Age’ and Audrey Hepburn in ‘Roman Holiday’. If you can bring these two women together, I think this is Rhaenyra. She’s witty and rude, but she has to perform consistently and live up to this royal role. But, You can see beneath the surface, she’s completely uncomfortable in her own skin.”
The first episode of “House of the Dragon” shows that Rhinera has an unusual relationship with her demon uncle (Matt Smith, “The Crown”) which is of hilarious degrees (the Targaryens are very pro-incest so this part isn’t much of a concern to them).
“Matt and I came to a common understanding: this [the relationship] Charged, but below the surface,” Alcock said. “It’s almost as if they’re having two conversations in every scene. It’s like what they’re actually saying, what they’re saying with their body language, and in their eyes and tone. It was really fun to play with and work with Matt. He’s a generous actor, he’s kind and considerate, he’s upped my performance.
“I think Rhaenyra is at an age where she can’t distinguish between platonic love, romantic love, and lust, because she hasn’t lived long enough and had those experiences. So, I think she realizes there’s a feeling here.” [with Daemon]but she’s not quite sure where it lands, how to behave with it and navigate it, which is what makes this dynamic so interesting.”
With “Game of Thrones” being the biggest show in the world during its run from 2011 to 2019, Alcock said that the cast of “House of the Dragon” felt a sense of pressure.
“Of course we did. But not while we were shooting. We were only reminded in this part of its size. I don’t really know how to deal with it. It’s pretty scary. So, I’ve been a little more reclusive than I normally would. Just gaining confidence. To interact with that fan – you want to do them justice. It’s so much fun as an actor to actually have a fan base, as opposed to the fan base coming to you.
“It’s as if they should kiss us first. It will be fun to hear everyone’s response.”
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