Star of Game of Thrones prequel forced off social media after fan event
The first episode of much anticipated Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is only a few hours away. Confidential chats to the big name stars with huge shoes to fill.
Confidential
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One of the stars of the upcoming Game Of Thrones prequel has revealed she felt forced to delete social media after one of her debut press appearances.
British actor Emily Carey, 19, who plays a younger version of Lady Alicent Hightower in HBO’s House Of The Dragon, found herself embroiled in her first social media storm after comments she made at Comic-Con International in July.
The former child star, who has featured in blockbuster films including Wonder Woman and Tomb Raider, ruffled feathers among the diehard GOT fandom when she discussed creating a backstory for her morally-questionable character in order to humanise her.
It prompted a stream of hate from readers of George R.R. Martin’s books, who collectively accused Carey of not understanding the source material and failing to accept Alicent was a villain.
Speaking to News Corp Australia, the self-confessed social media fanatic said she temporarily deleted Twitter to drown out the mounting criticism.
“I love social media. I’m 19, so I’m all on social media, and I’ve been on social media since I was a kid because I’ve worked since I was a kid so I’m very conscious of things … any hate that comes in, it’s just … it’s a person behind a screen. You just have to move on from it,” Carey said.
“But I will say I did delete Twitter [after Comic-Con] because it’s just so loud. Even when it’s good, there’s so many and it’s so loud. I love the buzz, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it can be overwhelming, and that’s me being completely transparent.”
At the time of the backlash, Carey wrote in a since-deleted tweet: “I stand by what I said in the panel. Alicent is not the villain, folks. When we meet her she’s a child, a product of the patriarchy. Just you wait and see. Maybe you’ll sympathise.”
While she conceded she had to “switch off for a bit” for the sake of her mental health, Carey said the many supportive messages she received softened the blow.
“Post Comic-Con there was a lot of noise, but what’s really lovely is a lot of fans noticed that I switched off Twitter and have come to me on other platforms that I use more often and have messaged me making sure I’m OK,” she added.
“So I’m definitely feeling the positive vibes from it now, which is really nice.
“I’m very respectful of the fans in the sense of, we’re stepping into their world rather than they are watching our world.
“The fans are great. I think, for the most part, we’ve been welcomed in warmly to this fan base.”
KING AND I NOT A DRAG ON PADDY CONSIDINE
Paddy Considine has no idea how, or if, his life will change thanks to playing King Viserys Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
At 48 and with a substantial profile already thanks to roles in the likes of TV series Peaky Blinders and the Bourne movies, Considine is hopeful the focus will simply be on his work.
“I don’t know if I’m sort of ignorant in a way that I think I’m going to get away with it,” he told Confidential.
“So I’m (thinking) that the attention is going to be over there on the younger cast, and I’m just going to walk away scot-free and (people) not know me because I live a very sort of quiet existence as it happens. But I’m not naive. I’m not walking into something that isn’t already a phenomena. So pressure, I don’t think there was ever pressure in my mind to deliver something. I can only work with the materials I’m given and I was cast and I can only do my best in that job.”
Considine famously once said that if he ever became a celebrity, he would “disappear and go and make shoes like Daniel Day-Lewis”. Day-Lewis once took a break from acting to work as a shoemaker in Italy.
“With regards to the other stuff, I don’t know how this is going to go,” he said. “I don’t know how it’s going to change my life in terms of can I nip to Tesco still and not be bothered. I have no idea. But as long as nobody turns up at my front door, I’ll be all right. Or hides in the bushes, because I have got a baseball bat.”
EMMA D’ARCY AND OLIVIA COOKE: TO REIGN OR NOT TO REIGN?
Most actors would fantasise about being offered a role in a major franchise like Game of Thrones.
But for two of House of the Dragon’s key cast members, Emma D’Arcy, 30, and Olivia Cooke, 28, the duo weren’t sold on joining the immensely successful fantasy franchise.
D’Arcy, who goes by they/them pronouns, is the pin-up face of the series as the older version of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen – the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. A dream role, many would say. But the actor admits they had to weigh up whether or not to accept it.
“It was a big decision,” said D’Arcy. “I literally wrote a pros and cons list. I literally sat down with my partner and wrote a pros and cons list.”
Cooke, who plays the older version of Lady Alicent Hightower, added, “It’s just the show Game of Thrones was so fantastic and you do automatically go, ‘Well, how can you live up to that? How is this different?’ But speaking to (producers) Miguel (Sapochnik) and Ryan (Condal), that quickly assuaged all that.”
As for whether D’Arcy felt they made the right decision in the end? “Ask me in three months.”
SKIN’S NO ISSUE FOR STEVE TOUSSAINT
The colour of his skin is irrelevant to telling the story of Lord Corlys Velaryon in House of the Dragon for actor Steve Toussaint.
Married to Princess Rhaenys Velaryon – played by Eve Best – the fact the pair are a mixed race couple on screen is not part of the story.
“Certainly as a person of colour, I don’t wake up every morning going, ‘yeah I’m black, I’m going to have some black breakfast’. I am just a person like everybody else,” Toussaint said. “What we are trying to do with dramas, I hope, is that we just watch something, you turn it on and you see me or whoever it is and think, well let’s see what this person is going through, because he has a heart and a brain just like everybody else.”
MILLY ALCOCK DRINKS TO LEAD ROLE
What does one do when they get the most exciting phone call of their life?
One gets drunk, of course.
Aussie actor Milly Alcock has revealed the moment she was told she landed the lead role of the younger version of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen on House of the Dragon, which premieres on Binge and Foxtel today.
The 23-year-old from Sydney said she was at a friend’s house making dinner when her agent called with the massive news.
“It was like 8pm and I was like, ‘Oh s***. It’s really late for my agent.’ And he was like, ‘Are you sitting down?’,” Alcock recalled. “I haven’t had many of these phone calls. This is my first, ‘Are you sitting down?’ He was like, ‘You got it.’ And I just froze outside and then walked back in and was like, ‘Do you have any wine? Can we drink it now?’ So we got drunk.”
While she was legally blocked from telling anyone about the life-changing news, Alcock did tell her mum.
“I mean you can’t tell anyone. Lawsuits, man. Like big lawsuits,” Alcock said. “(But) I called my mum because … It’s your mum. I feel like NDAs … it’s like, if it’s your mum, you can tell them. So that’s what I did.”
HATE ONLY SCREEN DEEP FOR MATT SMITH AND FABIEN FRANKEL
With big name actor Matt Smith in his corner, star on the rise Fabien Frankel is sure to go far.
The pair play adversaries in House of the Dragon but off set was a different story.
“He is an absolute f***ing legend,” Smith, the British star of hit shows The Crown and Doctor Who, told Confidential.
“This is a really exciting moment for Fabien because he is brilliant in the show, he has got such a huge part coming up and what an amazing moment in his life.
“He is a really dedicated, brilliant young actor … he is one of my closest allies and friends on this show. He is a kind, graceful, open, brilliant young man, I am really excited to see what this does for you Fabs. It is going to be a real moment in time.”
Frankel plays Ser Criston Cole in House of the Dragon while Smith is Prince Daemon Targaryen.
House Of The Dragon premieres express from the US on BINGE and Foxtel at 11am AEST on August 22
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