HBO’s highly anticipated prequel to Game of Thrones is in no shortage of amazing characters portrayed by even more amazing actors. Among the fandom’s absolute favorites in House of the Dragon so far is Milly Alcock’s Rhaenyra Targaryen, who has managed to draw a staggering amount of acclaim.
It might be a little intimidating stepping into a world as beloved and recognized as Westeros, and the breakthrough star definitely felt that pressure in those early months of going to set dressed as a Targaryen princess. In a recent chat with Nylon magazine (per Insider), Alcock revealed that she constantly feared they’d fire her.
“You quickly adapt and it all becomes quite normal, but the first two, three months I just thought I was going to get fired constantly. It was incredibly intimidating. It was incredibly new and exciting and daunting, because I’ve only ever done Australian TV, so the budgets are immensely different; they’re not in the same league. It was just quite a shock, [to see] that was a way that you could make film and television. I didn’t fully understand how big of a scale something like that could be until I stepped on set, and I was mortified.”
As intimidated as she was, it speaks volumes about the star’s acting chops that none of it showed onscreen. Alas, despite all of her charm, Alcock will soon be replaced in the role by Emma D’Arcy, a convenience that House of the Dragon requires to remain faithful to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel, which features erratic time jumps between the story beats.
In any event, we still have at least one more outing starring Alcock to look forward to when House of the Dragon returns this Sunday, so there’s that.