How Emilia Clarke (Daenerys) helped Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra) with their role in House of the Dragon

Both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have two Targaryen Queens as their focal point. Emilia Clarke‘s Daenerys emerged among the odds as the true Targaryen heir, while Emma D’Arcy‘s Rhaenyra is fighting for her legitimacy as the Queen of Westeros. Hence, it should come as no surprise that the two actors bonded well when they had a chance to meet, with Clarke sharing some sound advice with the new Targaryen Queen.

Emilia Clarke helped Emma D’Arcy with “practical stuff” on set

As Rhaenyra, Emma D’Arcy was entrusted with the daunting task of portraying an important chapter in the Targaryen history. And there was no one else better than Emilia Clarke who could help with that, and she did it gladly. On Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, D’Arcy recalled,

“Her [Clarke’s] advice was amazing because it was both sort of broad, sort of embracing wisdom about like the sort of psychic change that one’s about to undergo. But also like practical stuff like, I really remember her saying like ‘your trailer is your space, decorate it, use it.’ You know, just like tiny things.”

Credit: Theo Whiteman/HBO

Emilia Clarke advised Emma D’Arcy on the use of wigs

The Targaryen wigs on both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon were trademark symbols of Targaryen ancestry. Clarke’s advice came in handy for D’Arcy. D’Arcy said,

“We talked about the practicalities of wearing a wig every day, what it does to your scalp, the issues you’re going to have, it was like really good. The real stuff. I mean, I feel fortunate because I think we experience a fraction of the baptism of fire, without trying to make some sort of Targaryen pun, that Emilia went through, but even so, I suppose it’s like this show has like a, you enter something with a history that proceeds you.”

Read Next: “Ultimately, she will choose herself”: Emma D’Arcy explains why Jacaerys’ anger towards Rhaenyra is justified

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