We’ve known from Day One that House Of The Dragon would include a serious time jump, but we couldn’t have known how much we’d love young Alicent and Rhaenyra. (Or maybe we could: say what you will about Game Of Thrones, but the franchise knows how to draw a compelling character.) As much as one might prefer to see the older versions take on some of these, ahem, adult situations, it’ll be a shame to see the young cast go when the older actors take over the roles.
Unless, that is, there’s a chance the young stars may return for future seasons? “It’s been spoken about, conversations have happened, but, in all honesty, I know absolutely nothing and I have no idea,” Emily Carey, who plays young Alicent, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Of course, I would love to come back. It depends on how it’s received and where they want to take the show next. I’m just going with the flow!”
Having previously played childhood flashbacks of Wonder Woman and Lara Croft, Carey jokes to the outlet, “I seem to have made a niche for myself playing ‘the younger version.’ Apparently, I looked like a lot of people—or I’m just very moldable.”
Still, the physical similarities with Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent the elder, are so obvious that people had mentioned it to Carey before she was ever even cast on the show. “But the main thing was, watching her work, our acting styles are actually very similar, which is something I think [showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik] had clocked,” she says. “The main thing they were looking for was just that we could make the same choices and perform the same character. But it was certainly intimidating because I admire Olivia as an actor and a person, so I was just excited to be in the mix for it.”