Emma D'Arcy

Emma Zia D'Arcy (born 27 June 1992) is an English actor who will be playing Rhaenyra Targaryen in Season 1 of House of the Dragon.^[1]

D'Arcy identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.^[2]

Background

D'Arcy, born in Greater London in 1992, studied at the Ruskin School of Art (an art school within the University of Oxford). They are currently the Joint Artistic Director of the Forward Arena Theatre Company.

One of their earliest lead roles was playing Romeo in a 2014 production of Romeo and Juliet by the Oxford University Dramatic Society.^[3] Subsequent theatre credits from 2014 to 2018 include: The Crucible at the Yard Theatre, Against at the Almeida Theatre, A Girl in School Uniform (Walks Into a Bar) at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and Mrs Dalloway and Callisto: A Queer Epic at Arcola Theatre.^[4]

Their first television appearance was in the Netflix series Wanderlust (2018) starring Toni Collette, playing her elder daughter, followed by guest roles on Wild Bill (2019) and Hannah (2020). They were also featured in the 2017 music video Too Much Love by Little Cub (D'Arcy doesn't sing or talk in it, it's a slice-of-life video that follows D'Arcy's character going about their day).^[5] D'Arcy then starred in Nick Frost's supernatural comedy-horror series Truth Seekers (2020), which also featured Simon Pegg and Malcom McDowell. D'Arcy played the central character Astrid, a mysterious young woman haunted by ghosts who seeks the help of Frost's supernatural investigator.

D'Arcy's first theatrical film appearance was in Misbehaviour (2020), followed by a prominent role in Mothering Sunday (2021), with Olivia Colman and Colin Firth.

On December 11, 2020, it was announced that D'Arcy would be playing Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.