For almost a decade, Game of Thrones was an inescapable television phenomenon, smashing records at every turn and picking up Emmys left and right. But Emma D’Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, had never watched Game of Thrones before auditioning for prequel series.
Rhaenyra is one of the most important characters in the prequel. There’s no doubt that hundreds of eager Thrones fans rushed to send in their audition tapes. However, for D’Arcy, the process was a lot more laid back. They didn’t already have a deep love for the franchise, so it felt no different than auditioning for anything else. If D’Arcy were a fan, they believe they wouldn’t have landed the role.
“I hadn’t seen it before I auditioned, which I honestly think is the only reason I’m able to do the job,” D’Arcy told Interview Magazine. “There’s no way I’d have made it through the audition process if, at that time, I had the love for the show that I have now. I think I’d have buckled under the pressure.”
Of course, it goes without saying that D’Arcy was aware of Game of Thrones before auditioning. The show was ubiquitous. “I haven’t lived under a rock and it was very much in my peripheral awareness,” they said.
After landing the role, D’Arcy read through George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood — the novel that the prequel is based on. “I’ve read the book that relates to the work we’re making, Fire & Blood. Not least because it’s very exciting to read ahead and get spoilers on your own story. Highly recommend that.”
That said, D’Arcy has not finished all of the books in Martin’s main A Song of Ice and Fire saga. There’s plenty of time to catch up. The Winds of Winter isn’t even out yet.
Emma D’Arcy talks about her nonbinary identity
D’Arcy is nonbinary and uses the pronouns they/them, although House of the Dragon is the first job where they’ve been open about it. “This is the first job in which I’ve brought my nonbinary identity to work,” they said. “And part of that was because HBO asked me what pronouns I use, and I thought a lot about whether this was the right time.”
Studios providing pronouns in casting announcements is becoming more common. “The reason it’s important is that there was a point, earlier in my career, where I really worried that it wasn’t possible to be an actor if you aren’t a cisgendered person,” D’Arcy continued. “Typically, within casting sites, there are two columns, and I wondered if those two identities were going to have to live separately in order for me to have a career. The reason I decided to be honest in my presentation professionally is that I really hope that younger people who want to do this work know that there is absolutely space and that space is opening up.”
Fabian Frankel (Ser Criston Cole) had to be hand-fed on set
Being an actor seems like one of the most glamorous jobs going, but that’s just what the fans see. While on set, things can get pretty weird. Just ask House of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel, who recently revealed that he had to be hand-fed his lunch on set due to his heavy armor.
“It’s quite heavy, I mean it got less heavy as time went on,” the actor said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “You had a breastplate, which protects your neck and top of your chest, but you couldn’t remove it. I had to sit like a zombie and have people feed like I was sick.”
House of the Dragon continues Sundays on HBO. Who will sit on the Iron Throne at the end of season 1?
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