Emma D'Arcy Calls Their House Of The Dragon Wig 'A Blessing' For Making Them Unrecognizable To Fans
No one quite knew what to expect heading into the premiere of "House of the Dragon" Season 1 in August 2022. The ambitious fantasy series debuted a little over three years after its parent show, "Game of Thrones," aired its finale in 2019, which left such a bad taste in the mouths of both die-hard fans and casual viewers alike that many went into "House of the Dragon" unsure of whether or not the prequel was actually going to be good. There were even some longtime "Game of Thrones" fans who claimed online that they refused to watch "House of the Dragon" because of its predecessor's lackluster conclusion.
Of course, "House of the Dragon" went on to become a major critical and commercial hit for HBO. Indeed, the series' first season received largely positive reviews and reactions from both TV critics and viewers, which solidified its place as a worthy, potentially superior successor to "Game of Thrones." The show's success also turned many of its stars, including Olivia Cooke, Milly Alcock, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, and Paddy Considine, into recognizable faces. Despite playing one of the series' leads, though, Emma D'Arcy says that the wig they wear as Rhaenyra Targaryen on the HBO series has made it surprisingly easy for them to retain their public anonymity.
"That wig is a blessing; people don't recognize me," the "House of the Dragon" star revealed during a recent roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "My day-to-day is broadly unchanged, which I feel very grateful for."
Emma D'Arcy thinks anonymity helps them as an actor
In the same interview, Emma D'Arcy went on to explain that they're not grateful for their "House of the Dragon" wig just because of the public anonymity it provides them. According to the HBO star, the ability to blend into certain public settings is a key part of their process as an actor. "I feel that the ability to observe others and not be the observed is so fundamentally important to our job," D'Arcy explained.
The "House of the Dragon" star's comment garnered widespread agreement from the other actors present at their roundtable interview, with "The Last Thing He Told Me" actor Jennifer Garner confessing, "It's an enormous loss when you are the person that the eyes are directed toward." Fortunately, it sounds like D'Arcy's concerns have, for the most part, been for naught, thanks to the striking Targaryen blonde wig they wear on "House of the Dragon."
D'Arcy, notably, also isn't the only HBO star who has been able to retain a portion of their anonymity because of a wig. Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys, a distant descendant of D'Arcy's Rhaenyra, in "Game of Thrones," previously said that she was able to avoid being recognized for a long time because of her Targaryen wig. "I don't get recognized," Clarke revealed during a 2016 interview with Conan O'Brien. "Truly, I'll be walking with Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, or Gwen [Christie], who plays Brienne of Tarth, and [fans] will be like, 'Oh, can you take this picture for us?' And I'm like, 'Sure! Definitely, I can!'"
All of this is to say: Those Targaryen wigs really do work wonders.