Emily Carey has received praise for playing Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon. Carey has to portray a teenager who is married to a man much older than her, which can be difficult to navigate. One of the biggest challenges that the 19-year-old actress faced while making the HBO fantasy hit series was navigating a romantic relationship with the character Viserys Targaryen. The dynamics were well-planned, with HBO having two sets of actors for the series.
Given that the first six episodes of House of the Dragon are shown in chronological order with plenty of time jumps, it’s likely that Alcock and Carey’s versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent will appear again in season two. In this regard, Carey, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, said that:
“It’s been spoken about, conversations have happened, but, in all honesty, I know absolutely nothing and I have no idea. Of course, I would love to come back. It depends on how it’s received and where they want to take the show next. I’m just going with the flow!”
Emily Carey on playing young Alicent romancing King Viserys
Carey also noted how the age gap of the characters affected her acting process:
“As an actor, personally, in full transparency, I struggled with Alicent’s relationships with her dad and Viserys. I don’t have an equivalent in real life. I don’t have a dad. And I also have never had a romantic interest — especially not with an older man. So to navigate those relationships and the journeys that those individual relationships go on was super challenging.
As actors, we bring a lot of ourselves to the people that we play. I want it to be as grounded and as truthful as possible. But especially when it’s put into a world and dialect you don’t normally speak in, you can feel very far removed from the characters. Of course, none of it’s real and as actors we love to step out of our comfort zones. I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun trying to navigate those relationships. But it was difficult at times, I’ll be honest.”
Later, Carey also emphasized that “For the most part, I had the best experience and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
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Read more: Emily Carey gives a little insight into who Alicent’s mother was
