It’s a temporary farewell to Westeros as aired its Season 2 finale on Aug. 4, and Season 3 isn’t expected to begin production until early 2025. But that doesn’t mean that the HBO show’s cast won’t remain top of mind.
Whether you were Team Black or Team Green, there are some faces in the hit series that you have likely come to love (and hate). And while some of the actors behind those faces landed their first major role with the prequel, others had pretty long-running careers before taking on the now-iconic parts. stars Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Fabien Frankel, Rhys Ifans, Eve Best and more took on roles in everything from to , to before making their way to Westeros.
Below, breaks down where fans have seen the actors behind Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, Daemon Targaryen, Sir Criston Cole, Otto Hightower and Rhaenys Targaryen, among others. Emma D'Arcy Emma D’Arcy, who uses the they/them pronouns, portrays the adult version of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in . Their acting career began in 2015, with a role in a short film called , followed by a lead part in 2018 series , alongside Toni Collette, Steven Mackintosh and Zawe Ashton.
The actor is also known for roles in and . Olivia Cooke Olivia Cooke takes on the role of Alicent Hightower in the prequel series. Alicent is the mother of King Aegon II Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen.
Prior to , she starred in movies like , , and Cooke also had parts in TV series , and . Matt Smith Unlike some of his co-stars, Matt Smith had already had a fairly lengthy career when he landed the part of Prince Daemon Targaryen. His breakthrough role came when he was cast as The Doctor on from 2010 to 2014.
Following that, he portrayed Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in from 2016 to 2017. Recently, he’s taken on roles in and Fabien Frankel Fabien Frankel had appeared in only five other projects when he was cast as Ser Criston Cole in . He had a recurring part in , in which he played Dominique Renelleau.
Frankel also had roles in , , and . Up next, he has and . Rhys Ifans Rhys Ifans has been acting since the early 1990s when he had a brief recurring role in .
Over the last few decades, the actor has appeared in , , and . He also portrayed The Lizard/Dr. Curt Connors in and reprised the role in Eve Best The actress, who portrays Princess Rhaenys Targaryen in , has been acting since 2000, when she made an appearance on .
In the last 10 years or so, her career has really begun to take off. Her first long-term recurring role was on , in which she took on the role of Dr. Eleanor O’Hara.
She followed that with stints on , and , before becoming Rhaenys in the spinoff. Steve Toussaint Steve Toussaint, who stars as Lord Corlys Velaryon in , began acting in 1994 with a recurring part on . Since then, he had roles on series like and , among others, and starred in .
He also appeared in , like his co-star and onscreen wife, Best, as well as , , and . Ewan Mitchell Perhaps Ewan Mitchell’s most well-known role outside of is Michael Gavey in Emerald Fennell’s 2023 film, , starring opposite of Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. His first role was less than 10 years ago in a short called He landed recurring roles in , , and .
Harry Collett Like some of his younger co-stars, is arguably Harry Collett’s biggest role. Prior to the prequel, he appeared in an Idina Menzel music video, , 2020’s and . However, he did have a recurring part in before taking on the role of Prince Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon.
Matthew Needham Like Collett, Matthew Needham also had a recurring role in , Britain’s long-running medical drama. The actor, who portrays Lord Larys Strong, guest-starred in shows like , and . He also took on the role of Lucien Bonaparte in Ridley Scott’s 2023 .
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