Interview
Milly Alcock (Rhaenyra) says learning Valyrian for House of The Dragon was like learning a song in another language
House of The Dragon is now premiering exclusively on HBO and HBO Max. The series has been quite challenging to produce after all. It is primarily because of the time and effort required for shooting, makeups, and rehearsals.
In this regard, line rehearsals were one of the essential things that were required to be superfine with a series like this. And it is Milly Alcock (playing Rhaenyra Targaryen) who went through a tough time while learning the exact same script in quite some languages.
The process was made much more difficult by the fact that Alcock had to learn how to say her lines in several different languages (including Valyrian), but she ultimately pulled it off and did a great job.
The language Valyrian was created by George R.R. Martin and perfected by David J. Peterson for the show. It was used in Game of Thrones prior to House of the Dragon. This might be why viewers often see the characters in House of the Dragon switching tongues during episodes. Emilia Clarke did a spectacular job with the language when she played Daenerys Targaryen. Now, Alcock is making sure the language is balanced throughout the prequel show.
Milly Alcock said that learning Valyrian was really fun
The 22-year-old actress recently showed up at the official House of the Dragon Podcast. She discussed her journey playing Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon (so far). In regards to learning Valyrian, he said that:
“Actually really fun. It was just kind of like learning another song in another language basically. I would learn the scene in English and then I would have it printed out on a sheet, and they would have it phonetically and then they would have an audio recording. And then I would just say it, so it became muscle memory. So I didn’t have to think about what I was saying. It was just like, my mouth was on autopilot basically.”
We are currently hovering at the center point of House of the Dragon Season 1. This means Alcock’s time on the show might end anytime soon, leaving the flashbacks. With that being said, House of the Dragon’s new episode premieres every Sunday on HBO Max and HBO at 9 pm E.T.
Can you relate to Alcock’s part in the series? Let us know in the comment section below.
Read more: 7 details you might have missed in House of the Dragon Episode 3