Emily Carey on Playing Young Alicent in House of the Dragon

Just take me into the mindset of Alicent. Princess Rhaenyra is her closest buddy and confidant, and now she is stepping into the part of her stepmother. And whilst she could not have a ton of dialogue, it’s apparent from her mannerisms and the way she carries herself that there is a whole lot of nervous power going on. 

It is interesting that you say you can see so significantly on her face and how she retains herself and the finding. It is because of so substantially that she wishes to say but just cannot, or feels she cannot, and it leaks out in minor approaches. It leaks out in a glint in the eye or a facial expression or the buying. She just can not bodily have it all—it has to burst out the seams in some way shape or form. I perform as a extremely immersive actor, so when I’m participating in a character, my imagined process disappears and I get on the character’s prepare of considered, if that helps make feeling. That’s how I function I black out, and it feels pretty significantly like a swap in between the two relatively than a mix as some actors do the job. And so when I was in Alicent’s state of mind, I discovered it incredibly difficult to manage her thoughts due to the fact there was just so much likely on at all periods. I made the decision to journal. It’s one thing that I do on most work to help realize the depth of the character’s mind, and I consider it requires it from staying a character on a webpage to a 3-dimensional human remaining. Mainly because no a person at any time states continually what they are contemplating. There is often a stream of consciousness, and I appreciate getting that on paper to look at. It was specially handy in this instance simply because with such a long shoot, we’d do a little something in rehearsals or we’d shoot a scene in June and occur back to the scene adhering to that or in advance of that in December, and it would have been pretty hard to soar all-around. So I would just browse the journal [entry] of the working day we rehearsed it or the day we shot the previous scene, and it would get me straight again into firsthand wherever my brain necessary to be in that mindset. It was anything that Ryan, primarily extra than anyone else, was exceptionally intrigued by and he observed it interesting. He would sit and browse it. 

I recall in our tale meetings at the incredibly commencing, I experienced 1-on-a single character meetings with Miguel [Sapochnik] and Ryan and experienced never experienced that variety of inventive liberty and had never been ready to delve in that deep in advance of. I came in with my folders and experienced each script printed out and highlighted and annotated with minimal tabs sticking out. They have been like, “Whoa! This is good. What is heading on?” And I was like, “This is how I perform. This is what I do.” They had been like, “Cool, let’s perform with that then.” Miguel is remarkable. He will make you experience like you are the only human being he’s doing work with and the only human being in the area. He’s extremely palms-on, and I cherished that. The help we experienced and the rehearsal period of time felt like we have been doing engage in rehearsals, which I started off in theater, so, for me, it was a incredibly comfortable ecosystem. 

Can you explain to me about working with Milly Alcock and setting up that on-monitor dynamic?

I consider we were being rather blessed that we didn’t detest each and every other. We just get together definitely properly off-screen, and so that chemistry arrived quite organically. Milly booked her part rather a though in advance of I was cast, quite a though right before I even auditioned, I imagine. And she experienced been inquiring for ages, “Who is playing Alicent?” And the next I identified out I booked it, I questioned, “Who is actively playing the other 1? Who is playing the other youthful woman?” I wished to know who Rhaenyra is. So we both equally, without understanding, requested our representatives to check with production who the other a person was. We received each other’s email messages, which is truly odd and official, so I Instagram-stalked her and DMd her and was like, “Hi! This is genuinely bizarre. Can we talk because I really do not know about you, but I’m petrified,” and she was like “Me too.” We FaceTimed and ended up both like, okay, this is reassuring that we are both equally as terrified as just one yet another. [We were on completely] reverse finishes of the environment, but we were being both likely into this outrageous whirlwind, daily life-changing working experience jointly. And so we clung to each individual other and have not yet permit go. 

We labored a great deal on the relationship with, of class, Miguel, but also with Clare Kilner who [directed episodes] 4 and 5 due to the fact that is definitely where you see the variation in the friendship from in which it’s been founded into what we see it come to be and definitely the spark of what it’s then going to turn out to be when Olivia [Cooke] and Emma [D’Arcy] get about. But there is just this closeness involving them. I often say, at 14, particularly as a lady, you think your finest pal is heading to be your finest good friend endlessly. There is no other selection. That is your particular person. And it is almost like owning a companion in that sense—it toes the line between platonic and intimate. At 14, you really don’t know what those people phrases indicate, enable by yourself what the inner thoughts necessarily mean. It’s just this tactile closeness. I imply, women at 14 are allowed to adjust in front of just about every other, they are not permitted to alter in front of the boys, and they go to the toilet with each other, and those matters. There is just this bond. Discovering that was just one of the most fun issues to do on this job, and Milly created it so effortless. 

Olivia Cooke performs the more mature model of Alicent. Did you two have a prospect to join in advance of filming to chat through the character?

It was blind, but we just had to believe in the resourceful crew. And as substantially as we trustworthy them, they set a massive volume of trust in us. We did go for lunch midway by the shoot, but only mainly because Liv is the loveliest human ever and messaged me to make positive I was alright. We just went for a capture-up, and we did not in fact speak about the character at all. Ten decades is a genuinely very long time, you know. It’s a prolonged time in anyone’s lifestyle, but specially in Westeros in which time moves so quickly and the individuals all-around you transform so swiftly and the circumstances alter so quickly. We see them develop from virtually young children to fully fledged ladies. There is a large amount of developing up to do in those 10 decades as well. So it was like we ended up taking part in various individuals. It’s, of training course, the exact character, but I really do not believe any one in their 20s seems to be back again at who they had been at 14 and thinks they are the exact man or woman. What was it that Emma explained? At Comedian-Con, they mentioned [that] when they were being looking at Milly’s and my episodes, it felt like they were looking at property online video, like [a] Targaryen residence movie, and I consider that is these kinds of a sweet issue to say, and it tends to make perception. We have not viewed Olivia and Emma’s episodes nevertheless. I’m seriously intrigued to see how it’s likely to be viewing me, like my character, my Alicent, on display in many years to appear. It’s a unusual Back to the Long run kind of thing.