‘House of the Dragon’ Cast: What Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy and More Look Like Off Screen

Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO (4)

'House of the Dragon' Cast: What Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy and More Look Like Off Screen

Fire cannot kill a dragon — or a franchise. HBO is returning to Westeros with the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, and once again the cast is almost unrecognizable outside of their wigs and costumes. Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen, has donned plenty of unusual outfits during his career, but even he was initially intimidated by his character's platinum wig. “I was like, ‘How can I act through this blonde wig?’ because all you can see is the blonde wig when you first put it on,” the Crown alum told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2022. “But it’s like anything, you get used to it and learn to ignore it. It was cool in the end, I’ve got three sorts of distinct haircuts in this, which is lucky because everyone else has just one thing all the time.” Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen, got into the wig game even before landing the role — but not without some struggle. The U.K. native wanted to wear Targaryen-esque hair for their audition tape, but with no wigs on hand at home, they had to improvise. [jwplayer ADGIA78S-zhNYySv2] "All I had were some hair extensions left over from a job. No way of attaching them to me, no idea how to do that," D'Arcy told Entertainment Weekly in July 2022. "For 24 hours, me and my partner just tried — I can't put more emphasis behind that word. ... We would send photos to [executive producer] Miguel [Sapochnik], and we thought we'd cracked it. And he said, 'Can you keep trying?'" All that effort eventually paid off, because D'Arcy landed the part of adult Rhaenyra over dozens of other actors. (A younger version of the Targaryen princess is played by Milly Alcock.) While the House of the Dragon cast may be able to travel incognito for now, that will likely change if the series gains even a fraction of the popularity that Game of Thrones did. Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow in the original show, has talked about how fans would flag him down to ask about his character's fate. “You get people shouting at you on the street, ‘Are you dead?’” the Eternals star told Variety in March 2019. “At the same time, you have to have this appearance. All of your neuroses — and I’m as neurotic as any actor — get heightened with that level of focus.” Steve Toussaint, who plays Corlys Velaryon in House of the Dragon, has admitted that he isn't quite prepared for that level of scrutiny. "I don’t think I am ready for it, but I don’t really think about it," the Judge Dredd actor told The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the show's August 2022 premiere. "This is the magic period right now because no one has seen anything. There are no judgments. We’re able to enjoy working and not think about that stuff." Keep scrolling to see what the House of the Dragon cast looks like in real life. [podcast_block]

Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO (4)

'House of the Dragon' Cast: What Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy and More Look Like Off Screen

Fire cannot kill a dragon — or a franchise. HBO is returning to Westeros with the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, and once again the cast is almost unrecognizable outside of their wigs and costumes. Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen, has donned plenty of unusual outfits during his career, but even he was initially intimidated by his character's platinum wig. “I was like, ‘How can I act through this blonde wig?’ because all you can see is the blonde wig when you first put it on,” the Crown alum told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2022. “But it’s like anything, you get used to it and learn to ignore it. It was cool in the end, I’ve got three sorts of distinct haircuts in this, which is lucky because everyone else has just one thing all the time.” Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen, got into the wig game even before landing the role — but not without some struggle. The U.K. native wanted to wear Targaryen-esque hair for their audition tape, but with no wigs on hand at home, they had to improvise. [jwplayer ADGIA78S-zhNYySv2] "All I had were some hair extensions left over from a job. No way of attaching them to me, no idea how to do that," D'Arcy told Entertainment Weekly in July 2022. "For 24 hours, me and my partner just tried — I can't put more emphasis behind that word. ... We would send photos to [executive producer] Miguel [Sapochnik], and we thought we'd cracked it. And he said, 'Can you keep trying?'" All that effort eventually paid off, because D'Arcy landed the part of adult Rhaenyra over dozens of other actors. (A younger version of the Targaryen princess is played by Milly Alcock.) While the House of the Dragon cast may be able to travel incognito for now, that will likely change if the series gains even a fraction of the popularity that Game of Thrones did. Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow in the original show, has talked about how fans would flag him down to ask about his character's fate. “You get people shouting at you on the street, ‘Are you dead?’” the Eternals star told Variety in March 2019. “At the same time, you have to have this appearance. All of your neuroses — and I’m as neurotic as any actor — get heightened with that level of focus.” Steve Toussaint, who plays Corlys Velaryon in House of the Dragon, has admitted that he isn't quite prepared for that level of scrutiny. "I don’t think I am ready for it, but I don’t really think about it," the Judge Dredd actor told The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the show's August 2022 premiere. "This is the magic period right now because no one has seen anything. There are no judgments. We’re able to enjoy working and not think about that stuff." Keep scrolling to see what the House of the Dragon cast looks like in real life. [podcast_block]

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Paddy Considine

The Peaky Blinders alum stars as King Viserys Targaryen, who is distantly related to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) from Game of Thrones. He succeeded his grandfather Jaehaerys as king. Considine's castmate Eve Best joked that he was "so possessive" of the Iron Throne during filming, to the point that he tried to keep other actors from sitting on it. “It was like it was his,” Toussaint told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2022. “At one point I said to him — because my character has a throne too, but it’s nowhere near like that — I said, ‘You can sit on mine if I can sit on ...’ and he was like, ‘Nah.'”

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Emma D'Arcy

D'Arcy plays Rhaenyra Targaryen, who is the daughter of Viserys. When Viserys names Rhaenyra as his heir over her uncle Daemon, chaos seems likely to ensue. In addition to wearing elaborate wigs for the role, D'Arcy had to learn the fictional language of High Valyrian. "I actually really enjoyed the process," they told Slash Film in August 2022. "It's like a fully functioning language — it's fully operational and so it's really gratifying to unpick."

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Milly Alcock

The Australia native plays a younger version of Rhaenyra. In August 2022, Alcock told TVLine that Rhaenyra faces "very similar challenges” to that of her distant relative Daenerys, which include her peers seeing her as “not legitimate."

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Matt Smith

The Doctor Who alum appears as Daemon Targaryen, who is the younger brother of Viserys. Before Viserys chose Rhaenyra to succeed him as queen, Daemon was the presumptive heir to the Iron Throne. Ahead of the show's premiere, Smith joked to Rolling Stone UK that his character has "slightly too much sex" throughout the series. 

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Olivia Cooke

The Ready Player One actress stars as Lady Alicent Hightower, who was raised in the Red Keep and is considered to be one of the most beautiful women in King's Landing. She's also a major rival of Rhaenyra (though Cooke and D'Arcy became fast friends in real life).

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Emily Carey

The Tomb Raider star plays the younger version of Alicent, opposite Alcock as the younger version of Rhaenyra.

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Steve Toussaint

Toussaint stars as Corlys Velaryon, who is known as the Sea Snake and is the most famous seafarer in the history of Westeros.

Credit: Shutterstock; inset: HBO

Eve Best

The Nurse Jackie alum plays Rhaenys Velaryon, who is the wife of Corlys. Her cousin is King Viserys, and she is also a granddaughter of Jaehaerys.

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Fabien Frankel

The U.K. native appears as Ser Criston Cole, a common-born swordsman who eventually becomes part of the Kingsguard.

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Rhys Ifans

The Notting Hill actor stars as Ser Otto Hightower, who is the father of Alicent and the Hand of the King to Viserys.  

Credit: HBO; Shutterstock

Sonoya Mizuno

The Annihilation actress plays Mysaria, a dancer who becomes Daemon's most trusted confidant.