With the help of its stars, the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon became an instant success. Emily Carey’s Alicent and Milly Alcock’s Rhaenyra propelled the show into the public consciousness by introducing a touching dynamic with painful and tragic overtones. Their close connection was shattered quickly, and Rhaenyra’s pain was set to resound through Alcock’s performance for the rest of the show.

Yet, by House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 6, “The Princess and the Queen”, the two characters were recast. Olivia Cooke replaced Emily Carey and Emma D’Arcy took Milly Alcock’s place in the show. Alicent and Rhaenyra’s dynamic remained unchanged, but Alcock and Carey did not return to the show in a full-time capacity. Recasting both characters is understandable, given the 10-year time jump, but the decision is still baffling. After all, few other characters were recast.

Why Were Alicent and Rhaenyra Recast?

Alicent And Rhaenyra Needed New Actors To Sell The 10-Year Time Jump

House of the Dragon was designed to depict the events of the Dance of the Dragons on-screen. Every scene builds toward a terrible civil war between Rhaenyra’s Blacks and Alicent’s Greens. With Targaryens ready to kill each other and half of the realm, the seeds of that conflict needed to be planted. For the showrunners, who needed to spend only a single season on the prelude to the Dance, that presented a problem. After all, the core pitch of the show involves dragons fighting—and that only begins with the Dance.

Cast of House of the Dragon

Character

Actor

Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen

Milly Alcock

Emma D’Arcy

Queen Alicent Hightower

Emily Carey

Olivia Cooke

King Viserys I Targaryen

Paddy Considine

Prince Daemon Targaryen

Matt Smith

Ser Otto Hightower

Rhys Ifans

Ser Criston Cole

Fabien Frankel

King Aegon II Targaryen

Ty Tennant

Tom Glynn-Carney

Lord Corlys Velaryon

Steve Toussaint

Princess Rhaenys Velaryon

Eve Best

Since the Dance truly begins in House of the Dragon Season 2, Season 1 needed to depict much of Rhaenyra’s background. Her relationships with Alicent, Viserys, and Laenor are crucial to accurately showcasing the most important character in the Dance. That meant that the show needed to show Rhaenyra’s childhood. The showrunners had no interest in filming for 20 years, so the actors needed to be switched to older actors. After all, if 10 years pass and Milly Alcock remains 21, it would be somewhat baffling. Emily Carey, too, was just 18 years old when the show was filmed. It would be downright bizarre for actors that young to play characters so young and so old. The change made the aging appear more realistic and helped sell the significance of the 10-year time jump that came mid-way through season 1.

But yeah, it scared the hell outta me. No one else has really done it before.

“It did scare the hell outta me. It scared the hell out of HBO, too,” House of the Dragon co-showrunner Ryan Condal said of the decision to recast Rhaenyra and Alicent in October 2022. “But to their credit, I mean it’s really the best network in the world. They were bold and said ‘We’re HBO, we’re buying into this and we’re gonna do this.’ I’m incredibly grateful to them for it. But yeah, it scared the hell outta me. No one else has really done it before. I mean, the closest analog that I have is The Crown, one of my favorite dramas of the last 20 years. I’ve talked about The Crown more in our [writers’] room than I did about most other shows other than the original Game of Thrones. They did it incredibly successfully… They went from Claire Foy and Matt Smith [in Seasons 1 and 2] to Tobias Menzies and Olivia Coleman [in Seasons 3 and 4]. You accepted that they were the same characters. The different thing is those are historical characters and you know who they are. But it was proof to me that if the drama was compelling enough and the story was compelling enough, that people would stay and follow the characters and not the actors. And sure enough, that’s what they did.”

Who Else Was Recast in House of the Dragon?

Laenor and Laena Velaryon Were Recast Alongside Rhaenyra and Alicent

Rhaenyra and Alicent were not the only characters to be recast in the middle of House of the Dragon season 1. Alongside the two leads, the actors for Laenor and Laena Velaryon were replaced with older stars. Laenor was originally played by Theo Nate, but John MacMillan took over for the second half of season 1. Laena, too, was originally played by Savannah Steyn, before Nanna Blondell took over. The recasting was meant to match Alicent and Rhaenyra, especially given that Laenor had been wed to Rhaenyra. Had Emma D’Arcy been playing alongside a teenage Laenor, it would have been a bizarre discrepancy that the recasting eliminated.

House of the Dragon Season 1 Recasts

Character
Original Actor(s)
New Actor(s)

Rhaenyra Targaryen
Milly Alcock
Emma D’Arcy

Alicent Hightower
Emily Carey
Olivia Cooke

Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon
Leo Hart
Harry Collett

Aegon II Targaryen
Ty Tennant
Tom Glynn-Carney

Aemond Targaryen
Leo Ashton
Ewan Mitchell

Helaena Targaryen
Evie Allen
Phia Saban

Baela Targaryen
Shani Smethurst
Bethany Antonia

Rhaena Targaryen
Eva Ossei-Gerning
Phoebe Campbell

Laenor Velaryon
Theo Nate and Matthew Carver
John Macmillan

Laena Velaryon
Savannah Steyn and Foueillis-Mosé
Nanna Blondell

Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon
Harvey Sadler
Elliot Grihault

The next generation of Targaryens and Velaryons also had many recasts, including Jacaerys Velaryon, initially played by Leo Hart, before a time skip aged him up enough for Harry Collett to take over the role. Aegon II Targaryen was played by Ty Tennant, who was quickly replaced by Tom Glynn-Carney. Aemond’s original actor, Leo Ashton, lost the role to Ewan Mitchell partway through the season. Lucerys and Helaena were similarly replaced, as Harvey Sadler became Elliot Grihault and Evie Allen became Phia Saban.

Why Weren’t Other Stars Recast?

Other Characters Were Much Older When The Show Started

With a large ensemble cast, many other actors in the show were never replaced. Daemon, Rhaenys, Viserys, Corlys, Otto Hightower, and Criston Cole retained their original actors. Despite the characters aging around them, they either aged through make-up alone — as Viserys did — or seemingly did not age at all. Daemon appears to be the same age he was at the start of the show, and Ser Criston’s only drastic change is in how he wears his hair.

The only exception was Viserys, who aged drastically and never changed actors. Make-up work helped to age the character in place of replacing a show-stealing actor.

It is somewhat odd that some characters were recast and not others, but it was the right decision. In keeping their original roles, the retained actors helped to ground the show. Only half of the cast was shuffled, meaning viewers could still recognize some characters. That eased the process of recognizing their relationship with the new actors, which helped to reveal their roles. These actors also played much older characters.

The only members of the House of the Dragon cast to be replaced were generally playing characters under 20 years old. People at that age tend to have more drastic changes in their appearance than older people might. Realistically, Daemon may not change too much from his mid-30s to his mid-40s, but a child will age drastically if jumping from childhood to their teenage years or from their mid-teens to their mid-20s. The only exception was Viserys, who aged drastically and never changed actors. Make-up work helped to age the character in place of replacing a show-stealing actor.

The Recasting Was the Right Decision for House of the Dragon

The Recasting Introduced Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy, Who Have Owned Their Roles Completely

As tragic as it was to leave Carey and Alcock behind, the recasting was the right decision. Carey and Alcock are both immensely skilled young actors, but Cooke and D’Arcy have the experience needed to helm a show with the profile of House of the Dragon. Within a single episode, both displayed their talent and added layers of tragedy to the pre-told story of Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship. In effect, the Alicent and Rhaenyra actors switching was hardly a recasting, as D’Arcy and Cooke were cast before Alcock and Carey. The younger actors were cast with D’Arcy and Cooke in mind, which explains why the transition was so seamless.

It’s why the House of the Dragon recasting was necessary, and it worked perfectly to establish Rhaenyra and Alicent as older, wiser, and more experienced characters.

House of the Dragon built up to the switch for five episodes with smaller time skips, but the final skip was comparatively massive. It offered the perfect opportunity to spotlight D’Arcy and Cooke. Had they been introduced alongside Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Paddy Considine (Viserys Targaryen), and Steve Toussaint (Corlys “The Sea Snake” Velaryon), they never would have had the opportunity to shine. In the early episodes, the audience was still easing into the cast. The latter half of the season gave D’Arcy and Cooke a chance to give everything they had to the role. It’s why the House of the Dragon recasting was necessary, and it worked perfectly to establish Rhaenyra and Alicent as older, wiser, and more experienced characters.

Where Are Milly Alcock And Emily Carey Now?

The Two Actors Have Found Success Thanks In Part To House Of The Dragon

House of the Dragon fans adored the performances of both Milly Alcock and Emily Carey. So what have they been up to, lately? For Alcock, her roles post-House of the Dragon have been limited. However, she has landed a significant role. In the upcoming Superman movie set for 2025, the launching point for James Gunn’s DC Universe (DCU), Alcock is expected to appear as Kara Zor-El, or Supergirl. It won’t be a one-off performance either as Alcock will reprise her role in a solo capacity for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which is scheduled to release in 2026. Meanwhile, Alcock is also currently filming for the upcoming dark comedy series Sirens, based on the play Elemeno Pea (pronounced like the alphabet sequence “L-M-N-O-P”) by Molly Smith Metzler, where she’ll be playing the main role of Simone DeWitt. The series will stream on Netflix with a release date to be announced.

As for Emily Carey, they’ve picked up numerous roles since departing House of the Dragon. They’ve already been no stranger to film having played the role of Young Diana Prince in Wonder Woman and Young Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, among other roles. Carey since lent their voice to Virginia Otis in The Canterville Ghost and also starred in the film Breaking Point. Carey is set to play the role of Ellie in the upcoming film Walk With Me. On television, Carey played Ella Warren in Platform 7 and the main role of Harriet Manners in Netflix’s Geek Girl, which is based on the novel of the same name about an awkward teenage girl who stumbles into becoming a supermodel. Carey is set to star as Juni Tosano in the upcoming series Kensal Town.

Why Did House Of The Dragon Season 2 Bring Milly Alcock Back?

Milly Alcock Returns In Several Episodes Of House Of The Dragon Season 2

In a shocking twist, Milly Alcock returns to House of the Dragon in Season 2. After inadvertently causing the death of the young prince Jaehaerys, Daemon Targaryen tries to redeem himself in Rhaenyra’s eyes by flying to Castle Harrenhal in the Riverlands to help build their army against the Greens. However, there he finds that the mysterious spirits of Harrenhal have something to tell him. Daemon is haunted by strange dreams, which show him parts of himself that he dreads. As a part of these visions, a young Rhaenyra Targaryen appears to him, pressing him to reveal whether or not he is truly loyal to her as his queen.

House of the Dragon easily could have had Emma D’Arcy fill this role as the older Rhaenyra, but instead chose to bring Milly Alcock back. This may have been done purely because of the actress’s popularity with fans, but may also have a deeper meaning. Seeing a younger Rhaenyra betrays how Daemon truly views his wife and queen. To him, Rhaenyra will always be the little girl that he once knew. Daemon wrongly believes that he still knows better than she and can be the power behind the crown if Rhaenyra manages to ascend the Iron Throne. However, these visions prove to Daemon that he is wrong—and doomed to fail in his quest for power.

House of the Dragon took a major risk with its early recasts, but the gamble paid off. The series now sports an incredibly strong cast that brings George R.R. Martin’s original story to life. Having successfully navigated this casting change, the series now has the freedom to play around with its alumni, bringing back actresses like Milly Alcock for fun cameos in Season 2. Hopefully, it won’t be the last time, maybe with Emily Carey reprising her role next.