House of the Dragon’s Mily Alcock says newfound fame makes her ‘incredibly anxious’: It’s driving me off the wall

Mily Alcock has been the breakout star of HBO’s new hit House of the Dragon. Mily plays the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen on the show, has become a fan favourite in no time. So much so that she has managed to draw attention from seasoned performers like Matt Smith and Rhys Ifans. However, this newfound fame isn’t sitting too well with the 23-year-old. Also read: House of the Dragon’s Mily Alcock on why Rhaenyra is drawn to Daemon

House of the Dragon is a spin-off of Game of Thrones, with both shows based on separate works by author George RR Martin, set in the same fictional universe. The show focuses on the Dance of the Dragons, a fictional civil war in House Targaryen with Mily’s Rhaenyra one of the key players. The actor was always meant to be a temporary fixture on the show, playing the teen Rhaenyra. She will soon be replaced by Emma D’arcy as the show takes a time leap in the next episode. However, given her popularity, fans have now begun petitions to keep her on.

In a new interview with Nylon, Mily said, “I’m trying to not look at it and trying not to engage with it because it doesn’t benefit me. It just makes me incredibly anxious. Me seeing my face constantly is straining. No one should have to do that. It f***in’ sucks, man. I don’t know how the socialites of the world can do that. It’s kind of driving me off the wall. It’s an incredibly difficult space to navigate.”

The actor added she finds it especially hard to deal with the spotlight since she doesn’t have anybody in her circle who has dealt with the same things. “I don’t really know anyone who’s kind of gone through what I’m going through. All of my friends are very normal and go to uni and just do very basic things, and my family’s not in the arts whatsoever, so it’s strange. It feels like someone’s opened Pandora’s box and you’re kind of just looking through the looking glass. It’s a bit Alice in Wonderland-y. It’s f***ing weird,” she added.

House of the Dragon streams in India on Disney+ Hotstar with a new episode releasing every Monday. The show has captured fans’ imagination, registering record viewership figures. A second season was greenlit days after the first episode aired.