It's hard to imagine anybody other than Emma D'Arcy playing Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon but there was a time when they were unsure whether they would land the role. D'Arcy just opened up about their audition process for the Game of Thrones prequel and it was a truly unconventional experience for them.
Emma D'Arcy Shares Unusual Audition for House of the Dragon
Emma D'Arcy recently took part in an acting roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter and they shared how they auditioned for the Game of Thrones prequel.
"I wrote a pros and cons list during the auditions process," they explained. "The big one on the cons list was loss of anonymity, but probably that was a way of writing self-hate or something."
"Then I auditioned [via self-tape] for three months during the pandemic after losing a year of work, so in some ways, I think my hands were tied," D'Arcy continued.
"Halfway through the process, the then-showrunner, Miguel Sapochnik, called to ask me if I owned a wig," they added. "A proper person would've asked someone who does hair for advice."
"I had a bag of hair in my color from another job, and me and my partner, we literally stuck it to my head, which took about two hours every time I self-taped," D'Arcy continued.
"At the end of that, I did a four-hour in-person audition, and then I didn't hear anything," D'Arcy said, admitting that the silence worried them.
"I feel like, by the end of three months, I had taped every scene in the show," they continued. "Because they took a punt on me, I guess, in that I couldn't bring an audience."
"I just remember that it was good for a while and then it was awful," D'Arcy added. "And then after a few hours, they said, 'Great, you can go home and get drunk, we'll be in touch.'"
They continued, "Then Miguel came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders and said, 'Can we do one more?'"
The rest, as they say, is history. Needless to say, the long audition process was worth it in the end.
Emma D'Arcy returns as Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon Season 2, which has not yet been given an official release date. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.
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