House Of The Dragon's Emily Carey Joins The Chorus Weighing In On The Series' Squirmy Intimate Scenes

Nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon, "Game of Thrones" is memorable for many reasons— not least of which is its unflinching dedication to depicting sex and violence in their most graphic forms. While these shock-worthy elements are a major part of what popularized the dark fantasy series, several actors involved with the project have suggested that the show's creative team didn't always handle nudity and intimate scenes properly. In an interview with James Hibberd, Jason Momoa recalled an incident where showrunner David Benioff encouraged him to break common protocol for a sex scene (via Showbiz CheatSheet), while Emilia Clarke once noted on "Conan" that the series features a disproportionate amount of female nudity.

For better or for worse, the "Game of Thrones" prequel series "House of the Dragon" has proven in its first handful of episodes that it will not be dialing back on the graphic content that viewers have come to expect from the Westeros universe. Right from the start, fans had a hard time getting through a brutal Episode 1 scene involving a baby's birth gone wrong. There's also plenty of sex scenes, many of which touch upon taboo topics like incest and age gaps. As it happens, several actors on the series have publicly voiced their opinions on the show's approach to these uncomfortable bouts of intimacy. Now, the actor behind young Alicent Hightower, Emily Carey (who uses she/they pronouns), has added their thoughts on the matter.

One particularly uncomfortable "House of the Dragon" relationship is between Emily Carey's teenage Alicent and Paddy Considine's substantially older Viserys Targaryen. The duo share several intimate scenes, and in an interview with Newsweek, Carey revealed their initial apprehension about filming these sequences. "It scared me, because at that point I still hadn't met Paddy, I didn't know how much of a joy he was and how easy he was going to make [the scene], and all I saw was, you know, a 47-year-old man and me, I was a bit concerned," they said.

However, Carey noted that their worries were calmed through discussions with the show's intimacy coordinator (a major difference from "Game of Thrones," which lacked such a role until 2018). "To be able to talk everything through and not be shunned, or not feel awkward, or not feel like 'Oh, this isn't your job. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable but can I ask you...' it was never any of that, it was just that open dialogue," they said.

Carey's experience lines up with other actors. Milly Alcock, who portrays Rhaenyra Targaryen, told Newsweek that her incestuous sex scenes with Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) were completely comfortable to film. While Smith expressed reservations regarding the show's intimate scenes, he noted in a roundtable reported on by Screen Rant that they were properly filmed. "We had an intimacy coordinator, and that all felt quite good and safe and stuff," the actor said.