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With nearly 10 million million viewers tuning in for its August 2022 premiere, “House of the Dragon” made history, drawing in the largest audience for any new HBO original series ever. The “Game of Thrones” prequel series has it all — drama, intrigue, fantasy, sexy storylines and incredible transformations (kudos to the hair, makeup and costume departments)! Join Wonderwall.com as we take a look at the actors and actresses playing the ultra-blonde Targaryens — and others in their orbit…
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Emma D’Arcy portrays grown-up Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the dragon-riding first-born daughter of King Viserys Targaryen and Queen Aemma Arryn.
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Emma D’Arcy, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, starred on the BBC miniseries “Wanderlust” as well as the Amazon Prime Video series “Hanna” and “Truth Seekers.” They also appeared in the British romantic drama “Mothering Sunday.”
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Milly Alcock portrays young Rhaenyra Targaryen, King Viserys’s first-born daughter.
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While “House of the Dragon” marks her biggest role to date, Milly Alcock has appeared on a handful of series in her native Australia including “Janet King,” “Upright,” Starz’s “The Gloaming” and Netflix’s “Pine Gap.”
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Matt Smith plays Prince Daemon Targaryen, the warrior younger brother of King Viserys.
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Matt Smith found a new level of fame when he portrayed the 11th incarnation of the Doctor on the BBC’s “Doctor Who.” He also earned a Primetime Emmy nod for his portrayal of Prince Philip on Netflix’s “The Crown.” He’s more recently popped up in films including “Last Night in Soho” and “Morbius.”
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Paddy Considine portrays level-headed King Viserys Targaryen, the older brother of Prince Daemon and father of Princess Rhaenyra. He’s the fifth ruler of the Targaryen dynasty and was chosen to lead by the lords of Westeros over his cousin Princess Rhaenys Targaryen.
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BAFTA-winning actor Paddy Considine had starring roles in the films “In America,” “My Summer Love” and 24 Hour Party People.” He also had notable recurring roles on the BBC’s “Peaky Blinders” and the HBO miniseries “The Outsider.”
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Olivia Cooke portrays grown-up Lady Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Hand of the King Ser Otto Hightower. She has a close friendship with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen as the series begins.
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Olivia Cooke previously starred on “Bates Motel” and landed leading roles in the films “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” “Thoroughbreds” alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and “Ready Player One.” More recently, she played Riz Ahmed’s girlfriend in the Academy Award-winning 2020 drama “Sound of Metal.”
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Emily Carey plays young Alicent Hightower.
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London native Emily Carey has practice playing younger versions of characters — she previously portrayed young Diana in “Wonder Woman” and young Lara in “Tomb Raider.” She’s also appeared on two British television shows: BBC One’s “Casualty” and Netflix’s “Get Even.”
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Rhys Ifans plays Ser Otto Hightower, Alicent’s father who serves as hand of the king to Viserys.
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Rhys Ifans, who once fronted the Welsh rock bands Super Furry Animals and the Peth, earned recognition for his roles in “Notting Hill,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1” and “The King’s Man” and for his portrayal of supervillain Lizard in “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” He’s also appeared on the CBS procedural drama “Elementary.”
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Fabien Frankel plays Ser Criston Cole, a fierce knight of Dornish descent who’s the son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven.
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Fabien Frankel appeared in the romantic comedy “Last Christmas” (which stars “Game of Thrones” alum Emilia Clarke), an episode of “NYPD Blue” and four episodes of the Netflix miniseries “The Serpent” before nabbing his role on “House of the Dragon.”
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Eve Best plays Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, who was passed over in favor of her male cousin, Viserys, to take the Iron Throne. Some call Rhaenys — who has two children with Lord Corlys Velaryon — “The Queen Who Never Was.”
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Eve Best rose to fame after starring on the Showtime series “Nurse Jackie” and has since appeared on the BBC miniseries “The Honourable Woman” and in the Oscar-nominated drama “The King’s Speech.” An accomplished stage actress, Eve won the 2006 Olivier Award for best actress for her starring performance in “Hedda Gabler” and has nabbed a Drama Desk Award and two Tony Award nominations during her career.
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Steve Toussaint plays Lord Corlys Velaryon, also known as the “Sea Snake.” He’s a famed explorer and the richest man in Westeros and is married to Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, with whom he has two children.
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Prior to starring on “House of the Dragon,” Steve Toussaint appeared in films like “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” “Judge Dredd” and “Shooting Dogs.”
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Graham McTavish plays Ser Harrold Westerling, a knight of the Kingsguard who protects Princess Rhaenyra.
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Graham McTavish memorably portrayed Dwalin in the “The Hobbit” film trilogy and has also appeared on the AMC series “Preacher” and the Starz series “Outlander.” The Scotland native has also crafted a successful career as a voice actor — he’s the main antagonist in the “Uncharted” video game franchise.
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Sian Brooke plays Queen Aemma Arryn, the wife of King Viserys Targaryen and mother of Princess Rhaenyra who dies in childbirth after delivering a son, Prince Baelon, who also did not survive.
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Sian Brooke, who’s best known for her portrayal of Eurus Holmes on “Sherlock,” has appeared in a slew of stage productions including “Romeo and Juliet,” “King Lear,” A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Hamlet.” More recently, she starred on the first two seasons of the Apple TV+ series “Trying.”
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Sonoya Mizuno plays Mysaria, an ally to Prince Daemon.
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Sonoya Mizuno has appeared in three of director Alex Garland’s projects: “Ex Machina,” “Annihilation” and the FX on Hulu miniseries “Devs.” In addition to landing roles in “La La Land” and “Crazy Rich Asians,” she also starred on the Netflix miniseries “Maniac.”
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