They’ve anchored the first episode of one of the biggest shows on television, but Millie Alcock and Emily Carey have no clue what they’ll do next. Dragon’s”, in flashbacks, etc.
“I don’t even know what I’m doing tomorrow,” Alcock said. “So I don’t know.”
“I don’t even know what I’m eating for dinner!” Carrie added.
The performers are at a loss after creating two of “Dragon’s” main characters. Raenira, the heir to the Iron Throne of Westeros, is her Princess Targaryen (Alcock) and Aricent her Queen Hightower (Carrie), who hopes her descendants will one day usurp the throne. claims of her former best friend. The fifth episode, which aired on Sunday, marked the end of their tenure. In the story’s time jump, Emma Darcy takes over as Raenira and Olivia Cooke as Aricent.
“Me and Emily had this conversation today,” Alcock, 22, said on a conference call from London last week. [expletive] I do it all the time now I’ve been pacing.
“At Millie’s pace, I sit down and play Lego. That’s the vibe,” added Carey, 19.
“That’s the atmosphere,” Alcock countered.
Like the characters they play, these two actors were asked to carry heavy burdens at a young age. They are HBO’s big hits, with fans of the network fantasy phenomenon Game of Thrones flocking to a prequel set nearly 175 years ago where Daenerys Targaryen is even a twinkle in the eye of the Mad King. But that gamble paid off, and Alcock and Carrie’s skill at portraying the characters’ complex relationships has been key to the show’s success.
Where do things go from here? Alcock and Carrie are also wondering.
These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
The two anchored the first five episodes of the spin-off of the biggest show in HBO history, and was a hit in its own right. how has your life changed?
Millie Alcock There was a great sense of dread, fear and excitement. But there was also this completely welcome reassurance that me and Em were privileged to be able to do this for the rest of our lives. I have a sense that not everything will collapse under me.
Return to Westeros in “House of the Dragon”
HBO’s long-awaited ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series is here.
Emily Carey It looks strange. For me, that’s the main change. It’s because you can blend in that you can see it.
At a basic level, the story hinges on Rhaenyra and Alicent. How has their relationship reflected in your relationship as actors?
carry We are so lucky in that we get along well in real life, so the chemistry happened very organically.
Alcock they are very similar
carry I am very type A, very anxious, very obedient. I follow the rules In that sense, the mill is much more like Laenira. [Both laugh.] But I look at Millie like an older sister. It’s different than the character on screen. Yet the closeness we see between Rhaenyra and Alicent definitely reflects our real lives.
Alcock Me and Em went through a very similar experience that our characters went through. We were both thrown into this big role. I had never done a large project before, but in an environment full of men, I had to live up to this opportunity. We were forced to hold on to each other for our dear life.
carry And we haven’t let go yet.
Alcock God no. it won’t happen.
It’s also a family story.
Alcock It’s ultimately about a dysfunctional father at its core that I can relate to.
carry same. have been to.
Alcock Hooray.
One of the show’s central themes, women’s autonomy over their bodies and futures, has become even more pronounced since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling kicked off production. Overthrow of Roe vs. Wade.
carry I think that’s what makes the show so watchable and relatable to modern audiences. It’s more than fantasy and dragons. There are grounded, truthful topics and storylines that reflect the world we live in.
Alcock It explores the traumas these two women may have faced in that world, not just patriarchy, but internalized misogyny. These two women are forced to fight each other for their man’s choice.
Ironically, on social media, “I don’t want to say goodbye to Millie for Emma” and comparing Em to Liv. That’s what the whole show is about, and people still do it. So smart.
How long have you worked with Emma and Olivia —
Alcock Not at all. nothing. zero.
interesting!
Alcock know. [Laughs.]
So you should be as curious as anyone about how your character will survive without you.
carry Yeah I’m very intrigued. We didn’t even read the scripts we weren’t in, so we know very little about what happens after we leave.
Alcock was not given [the scripts]I asked them many times and they said ‘no they can’t do it’. I watch from the edge of my seat because I want to know what happens.
How does it feel to hand over the reins of Laenira and Aricent to a new actor?
Alcock I can’t wait to see what Emma did with Laenira. I didn’t get to play her later in her life because I don’t have the same life experience as Emma.
carry Mill, I love the way you say it. That’s true. When people say, “Do you want to do the rest?”, I’m always like, “I don’t know.” I don’t think I have that ability.
But let’s be honest, it’s weird to hand over a character that’s so personal.As actors, we put so much of ourselves into the people we play. That’s why it’s strange to have to stop someone’s story in the middle.
At the same time, it’s in the clear hands of Olivia, so it doesn’t feel unfinished. It’s really cool and weird to understand what there is.
Do you think there was a sublimated romantic or sexual tension between Rhaenyra and Alicent?
carry As a queer person myself, I read undertones in scripts that I knew would be played.That being said, I don’t think it’s Ryan Condal [a creator and showrunner] I was sitting there writing a gay drama. You can see it if you want to. If you want to pretend it’s not there, you can do that too.
The problem is, these girls don’t know what “platonic” or “romantic” means, whether it’s the word or the feeling itself. have an intimacy, especially in the world they live in. It is an all-consuming love.
There’s an underlying jealousy that I read about, especially coming out of behind episode 4. We were on the bench in this scene, and it’s the first time we’ve seen this two women reconnect after losing intimacy. How does it feel?” I remember saying.
Alcock And I was like, “Yeah!”
carry Yeah dude it felt like we were about to kiss It was really weird.
We didn’t make them gay or force anyone to be “gay”. It felt so natural. Like I said, it’s easy to ignore if you really don’t want to see it. But if you’re rooting for them and want the story to be more heartbreaking, choose to watch it.