Did you know Emma D’Arcy wasn’t a Game of Thrones fan before starring in House of the Dragon?

Emma D’Arcy is all anyone is talking about right now! In House of the Dragon, with every episode that drops, the 30-year-old actor is leaving us irrevocably enraptured with their charismatic performance as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock played the teenage version!). Receiving a grand welcome into the Game of Thrones universe by diehard fans, did you know Emma hadn’t watched the iconic series before starring in HOTD?

Emma D’Arcy Admits She Hadn’t Watched Game of Thrones Until House of the Dragon

In a candid chat with Interview magazine, Emma D’Arcy was asked what their relationship with Game of Thrones is, given how they play a royal from House Targaryen in House of the Dragon. To the question, Emma made a startling revelation: “I hadn’t seen it before I auditioned, which I honestly think is the only reason I’m able to do the job. There’s no way I’d have made it through the audition process if, at that time, I had the love for the show that I have now. I think I’d have buckled under the pressure.”

Emma D’Arcy elaborated that they were aware of Game of Thrones being “a cultural phenomenon.” D’Arcy quipped that they haven’t lived under a rock and that GoT was in their “peripheral awareness.” Emma instead became a Game of Thrones “nerd” much later: “That came later. It came at the ideal time, actually, in the run-up to finally shooting.”

Emma D’Arcy Reveals How it was to Shoot House of the Dragon

When asked what it was like shooting House of the Dragon, Emma D’Arcy honestly shared that for them, one of the most striking things is going to sound very obvious, which is the “sheer scale” of the series: “It’s sort of inescapable in every aspect: the size of those sets, the length of the shoots, the size of the cast, the thousands of people who are working on it across multiple departments.”

The one thing Emma D’Arcy didn’t anticipate before the team started filming was “the time that that scale affords.” Emma elaborated, “It was only after the first month of filming that I finally understood what my job was, which is to just show up, be present, and see what happens.” D’Arcy confessed starring in House of the Dragon “is the dream.”

Meanwhile, with eight enthraling episodes already out – this week’s House of the Dragon Ep 8 especially left fans gutted beyond belief – HOTD’s penultimate episode titled The Green Council drops on October 17 IST. Moreover, the season finale titled The Black Queen will be out on October 24 IST.