A young Australian actor has been cast in a recurring role on the Game of Thrones spin-off series. Rising Australian star Milly Alcock has landed a recurring role in The Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon; it can be revealed. Alcock and British actor Emily Carey will play the young versions of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), respectively, HBO announced on Tuesday. The highly anticipated series, based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, is set 300 years before the events in Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen and the Targaryen civil war that became known as the “Dance of the Dragons.”
Alcock, 20, previously starred in The Gloaming, the 2018 TV drama Pine Gap, and the 2019 miniseries The Reckoning. She also had a part in Seven’s A Place To Call Home. She previously attended Sydney’s Newtown High School for performing arts but dropped out to star alongside Tim Minchin in the Australian drama Upright. Speaking to the Gold Coast Bulletinin December, Alcock said that school was never for her, and she’s glad she discovered acting. “It wasn’t my place. I never did well. I struggled and wanted to do well,” she “It wasn’t for me. I didn’t have any great teachers who saw me until I found acting was where I felt safe. So, yeah, it was the right decision.”
And with a role in a Game of Thrones spin-off now another feather in her cap, it’s unlikely to be a decision she’ll ever regret. Production on the 10-part series has already started, with the network sharing the first stills from the upcoming series in May this year. “Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen — the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria — took up residence on Dragonstone,” the synopsis reads. “Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and recounts the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.”
In the spin-off, the Targaryen dynasty reigns supreme, with King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) serving as the peaceful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. But chaos ensues with a long list of potential, power-hungry heirs, including Viserys’ daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her half-brother Aegon II (not yet cast). Other players are Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). “Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen is the king’s firstborn child of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragon rider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything, but she was not born a man,” a character description from the network reads.
“Young Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. Alicent was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political insight.” Other cast members include Steve Toussaint and Olivia Cooke, who play Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, and Alicent Hightower, respectively. At the same time, Rhys Ifans picked up the role of Otto Hightower.
According to HBO’s character description, Alicent is “close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.” Otto, the Hand of the King, is described as “loyally and faithfully” serving “both his king and his realm”. “As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne,” the network said. Game Of Thrones ran for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019. Also starring are Paddy Considine, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, and Fabien Frankel. House of the Dragon will premiere on Foxtel in Australia in 2022.
