In the world of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, it must be daunting to take on a role as central to the series as Rhaenyra Targaryen. Thankfully, actor Emma D’Arcy received advice from a fellow franchise star before filming season 1 — and it’s exactly who you'd expect.
Before D’Arcy became the current queen of Westeros in House of the Dragon, they met Emilia Clarke, who portrayed Daenerys Targaryen in all eight seasons of Game of Thrones. D’Arcy spoke about their first meeting years ago, and how it was a pleasure to catch up at the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards, while on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of Digger this week:
“I was introduced to Emilia kind of before I started on House of the Dragon. And she was just super generous. And, I mean, she’s a very, very lovely person. And she was, she was just really kind and kind of talking to me a bit about what that experience [playing a Targaryen] might be like or, you know, whatever. And so it was nice to kind of reconnect a bit further down the line.”
In the same interview, D’Arcy was asked what the two Game of Thrones actors were speaking about before they went on stage together for that amazing moment where D’Arcy spoke in English and Clarke went full High Valyrian to present an award together. D’Arcy’s answer was everything:
“Probably what we were going to eat as soon as the ceremony was over.”
Incredible. If you want to see the full video, check it out below:
“probably what we were going to eat as soon as the ceremony was over.” 😭
— emma d'arcy daily (@emmadarcydaily) September 29, 2026
emma d’arcy on presenting at the emmys with emilia clarke for ew! pic.twitter.com/oP2gUgMXZX
Jokes aside, it is sweet to see that D’Arcy and Clarke had connected over their Game of Thrones roles previously. Playing a Targaryen can’t be easy, and I can only imagine the immense pressure D’Arcy must have felt taking it on after Daenerys, a beloved and praised character for years (until season 8, but we don’t need to talk about that).
Seeing them on stage together was like the combining of two worlds, ones that I didn’t expect to see together anytime soon. Clarke took to Instagram to share pictures from the Emmys, as well as a sweet message to Daenerys, saying that she “missed” her:
After the series finale, there’s no chance we’ll see Clarke play Daenerys again unless she's somehow brought back from the dead, which I doubt will happen (as much as my dragon-loving heart wants it). Although other Game of Thrones spinoffs are in the works, the dragon queen has been laid to rest in Essos.
However, it’s most certainly not the last time we'll see Rhaenyra, as House of the Dragon season 4 is on the way and will be released at some point in 2028. It will be the last season, completing the story of the Dance of the Dragons, one of the most important Targaryen storylines from Fire & Blood.
That will certainly be an incredible season for D’Arcy, as much of what Rhaenyra will do (or has done so far) won’t be…quite pleasant. We all saw how she slowly evolved into the ruler she became at the end of season 3—so much so that it has made me a low-key Team Green fan now.
Even after that, we know that this isn’t the last we’ll ever see of the Targaryens, as an Aegon’s Conquest film is in the works, and that is about as Targaryen as it can get. No one’s been cast yet, but fans are highly anticipating any additional news. There’s also a chance of a Jon Snow spinoff in the future, according to Kit Harington, which would technically be another Targaryen continuation.
No matter how many Targaryen-centric spinoffs we get, it’s still fun that I got to see two generations of Targaryen on my screen thanks to the Emmys—and I really hope it’s not the last time we see D’Arcy and Clarke together.
You can watch all eight seasons of Game of Thrones and the first three seasons of House of the Dragon on HBO Max.
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