Meet Imogen Ruby Little, who played Daenerys Targaryen on House of the Dragon

Daenerys Targaryen showed up in the latest episode of House of the Dragon, but Emilia Clarke didn't return to play her.
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen – Photo: Courtesy of HBO
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen – Photo: Courtesy of HBO /
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The season 2 finale of House of the Dragon, "The Queen Who Ever Was," included a surprise cameo from an important character from Game of Thrones: none other than Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, and so forth. In a vision of things to come, Daemon Targaryen saw a glimpse of her from the back as she appeared in the season 1 finale of Game of Thrones, "Fire and Blood," just after her three baby dragons hatched.

We didn't actually see Daenerys' face, which clued people in on the fact that it probably wasn't Game of Thrones actor Emilia Clarke returning to the role. And indeed, not long after, British stunt trainee Imogen Ruby Little shared images of herself dressed up as Daenerys behind the scenes of the show. So meet Imogen Ruby Little, our new Daenerys Targaryen!

"Watch your mouth, you’re speaking to the Mother Of Dragons now," Little wrote. "My pleasure to join the cast of HOTD, step into an iconic role and an honour to bring such an influential character to life, even for a minute in time, I had a blast," she wrote. "Absolutely over the moon to have been given this opportunity!"

Daemon's vision of the future seems like a one-time kind of thing, so I doubt Little will show up as Daeneyrs on the show again, but it was definitely fun to see this Game of Thrones character turn up on the prequel series, if even for a second.

And if she does show up, it won't be for a while. Although we know that a third season of House of the Dragon is on the way (and that a fourth and final season if coming after that), it probably won't be here until 2026. In the meantime, the new prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is set decades after House of the Dragon but decades before Game of Thrones, premieres on HBO and Max sometime in 2025.

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