Emma D’Arcy thought House of the Dragon was a Game of Thrones parody

One of the stars of House of the Dragon, the upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off, thought they were working on a parody series at first.

Emma D'Arcy is set to grace our screens as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, but when they first got the job they thought it was for a parody.

Instead, they landed one of the leading roles in what many are hoping will be one of the biggest shows on TV for the next few years.

Having never watched Game of Thrones before taking on a major role in the show's first big spin-off, D'Arcy has since ended up having to learn how to ride a dragon and speak High Valyrian.

Oddly enough, they believe it was a good thing that they didn't have the 'personal investment' in the series before getting cast as they thought they wouldn't have been able to 'hold my nerve' in auditions otherwise.

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Speaking to iNews, D'Arcy explained that nobody on the cast knew exactly what they were auditioning for at the beginning, and admitted that they were probably one of the last to figure out what was going on.

They said: "Everyone else managed to work it out; I remained very naïve.

"Everyone’s making fantasy series these days, so I just thought it was some spoof version. I didn’t realise until I was asked to send in another audition tape."

Far from being a parody or a spoof, House of the Dragon is the spin-off show that has been tasked with redeeming the franchise in the eyes of audiences who were mixed in their reception to the ending of Game of Thrones.

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Prequel series House of the Dragon centres on the succession crisis brewing around King Viserys Targaryen I (Paddy Considine), who has no male heir to easily pass the crown onto.

Incidentally, Considine turned down the chance to audition for Game of Thrones back when they were hoovering up talented actors because he'd been told the show had dragons in it.

Instead, it is up to his daughter Rhaenyra and brother Daemon (Matt Smith) to vie for control of the Iron Throne.

The HBO series will end up portraying the 'Dance with Dragons' civil war that gripped Westeros centuries before the events of Game of Thrones.

As for the future of other Game of Thrones spin-offs, a series featuring Kit Harington returning as Jon Snow appears to be in the works.

House of the Dragon will be available to watch on HBO and HBO Max on August 21.

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