The Hand of the King’s adolescent daughter is persuaded to marry the king himself—a man who is at least twice (perhaps three times) her age—and House of the Dragon star Emily Carey has received accolades for her portrayal of young Alicent Hightower in the Game of Thrones prequel series.
The 19-year-old actress claims that negotiating a love connection with Viserys Targaryen during the first run of episodes of the HBO fantasy series was one of her hardest obstacles while filming the hit show (played by Paddy Considine, who is 49, though his character is made to appear far older as the season progresses).To establish a relationship with Alicent’s father, Ser Otto Hightower, Carey had to construct fresh emotional ground because she was raised by a single mother (Rhys Ifans).
To be honest, as an actress, I found it difficult to portray Alicent’s interactions with her father and Viserys, according to Carey. My father is absent. And I’ve never been in a love relationship, certainly not with a mature man. Therefore, navigating those connections and the various partnerships’ trajectories was quite difficult. We actors give a lot of ourselves to the characters we portray. I want it to be as realistic and true as I can make it. You may feel quite disconnected from the characters, though, particularly if they are set in a setting and accent you are unfamiliar with. Naturally, none of it is genuine, and actors love to push themselves beyond their comfort zones. I liked it. Trying to negotiate those connections was a lot of fun. But I’ll be honest—it was occasionally challenging.
Since she began acting at the age of 8, the English actress has played a variety of parts in London theatre. She then portrayed a young Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) in the 2017 DC movie Wonder Woman and a young Lara Croft in the 2018 Tomb Raider remake. It seems like I’ve established a niche for myself as ‘the younger version,’ she quips. She also appeared in the 2020 fantasy film Anastasia: Once Upon a Time, saying, “Apparently, I looked like a lot of people — or I’m simply incredibly moldable.
Carey’s physical resemblance to Olivia Cooke, who assumes Alicent Hightower’s position midway through Dragon’s first season, is fairly remarkable in the show. Before landing the Dragon part, Carey was frequently compared to the Ready Player One actress, and when Cooke makes her season debut later this year, it takes the audience a while to realize the performers have changed.
Carey was astonished and thrilled to see how much screen time Dragon was allocating to Alicent and Rhaenyra before the other actors take on the roles, much like her co-star Milly Alcock, who portrays Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. To genuinely uncover that path, you need to observe a lot of how Milly and I communicate. You may also observe how they interact with others and the outside world, which helps you understand how they develop into the ladies you either adore or despise, depending on your viewpoint.
Given the popularity of Alcock and Carey’s portrayals of Rhaenyra and Alicent, one can’t help but wonder if they’ll possibly somehow make another appearance in season two of Dragon, even though the first six episodes of the show, which were shown to critics, relentlessly advance in chronological order with plenty of time jumps spread throughout.
Although there have been discussions and exchanges of ideas, Carey admits, “I know nothing and have no notion.” “I would certainly love to return. It depends on the response and the direction they want to take the program in. I’m just going along for the ride! ”
