“House of the Dragon” actress Emily Carey does not find much sympathy among “Game of Thrones” fans. They criticized their cast in the new spin-off. Now the 19-year-old actress commented on it.
The British native plays a younger version of the mischievous Queen Alicent Hightower in the prequel series House of the Dragon. When Carey said during a Comic-Con panel in July that she tried to humanize the character to better relate to the role, she was hit with a shitstorm. Game of Thrones fans felt she was ignoring the source material provided by series producer George Raymond Richard Martin.
The fantasy genre in criticism:
“I love the hype (…), but sometimes it can be too much”
Among other things, Carey was accused of not having read the book “Fire and Blood” on which “House of the Dragon” was based. Now she spoke to News.com.au about it. “I love social media. I’m 19 so I’ve been very active on social media since I was a kid because I’ve also been working since I was a kid so I’m very aware of things… . Any hate that comes in is just… it’s a person behind a screen. You just have to keep going,” she explained.
Nevertheless, she is also aware of the great pressure. She shared: “But I have to say I have my Twitter [nach der Comic-Con] deleted because it’s just so extreme. Even if everything is good, there are so many extreme users. I love the hype, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it can be too much and I mean that honestly.”
Carey needed to get to know her role better
During the event, Carey said she found her own way of getting to know the series character better. She shared: “There were a few gaps that we needed to fill and to find out all of that I started journaling and with the help of Ryan and Miguel (the creators of the series) I managed to come up with some kind of backstory and it turned out to be very useful. I’ve never had the freedom to shape an entire human being like this before. So it was a lot of fun to be able to go so deep with her”.
She also shared the following statement about her cast in House of the Dragon: “I think it gave me a deeper understanding of Alicent. I think she’s so multifaceted. There are so many sides to her. I think a lot of people already expect her to be the villain of the show, but I think there’s a lot more to explore,” she said.
“Maybe you will understand”
Author Martin defended the teenage actress, reminding fans that otherwise they “won’t have anyone called ‘Lord Evil.'” “There is definitely evil. I’ve always believed that the most interesting characters are the greatest. They are capable of generosity, kindness and love. And then they do something they’re ashamed of,” he clarified.
In a tweet, Carey also wrote that she would not regret anything she said before. She explained: “I stand by what I said on the panel. Alicent isn’t the bad guy, folks. When we meet her, she is a child, a product of patriarchy. Just wait and see for yourself. Maybe you will understand them”.
“We play an ugly game.” pic.twitter.com/4RI2xr40ll
— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) July 11, 2022