Emma D'Arcy

Emma D'Arcy plays the adult Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, taking over the character after her younger years are established. D'Arcy gives Rhaenyra a controlled public manner without making the effort of maintaining it disappear. Family conversations can feel like negotiations even before anybody says what they actually want.

D'Arcy's earlier television work includes Wanderlust and Truth Seekers. House of the Dragon is a much larger production, but the performance often works best in its smaller exchanges: a pause before answering, a moment of impatience or the guarded attention given to an old acquaintance. Those details give the formal court dialogue some much-needed personal feeling.