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If you haven’t seen Milly Alcock’s face lately, then you haven’t been paying attention. Even if you haven’t seen Supergirl in theaters, the film’s promotional campaign has put Milly Alcock’s likeness on toys, billboards, television commercials, posters, fast food tie-ins, and various other places. Today, it seems Milly Alcock is everywhere. However, there was a time when the actress was still trying to make her way in the industry - and that’s where House of the Dragon came in.

“It was insane,” Milly Alcock said during a conversation with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “It was my first international job. I was working with such incredible actors on a project of such monumental scale. It was incredibly daunting. I was living alone for the first time in my life. I was 21, I could barely tie my shoes. So, trying to figure out how to feed myself correctly and how to use a washing machine and also deal with all of these feelings without having a support network.”

Even the weather was trying to bring her down. “It was cold there,” she continued. “The weather is different. It took me so long to figure out layering. This sounds so stupid, but in London, I feel like I’ve been there for five years, and I’ve just figured out the appropriate things to wear depending on the weather. It was a massive learning experience.”

One of the brightest spots of the experience was her co-star Matt Smith, who made her feel welcome and helped her acclimate to the new environment. “Matt just made me feel so comfortable in this way. We had this really lovely relationship,” Alcock explained. “It felt like we were friends. We would all kind of go out after work and get a beer and hang out and it felt very humanizing. I think that obviously he was aware of the power imbalance and he always tried to make me feel as comfortable as possible. I only have positive things to say about it.”

Alcock played the young version of Rhaenyra Targaryen in seasons one and two of the series. For the present-day scenes, the role was played by Emma D’Arcy. Alcock admits she hasn’t kept up with the show, but from what she’s seen, she loves what Emma is doing with the character. “I haven’t been watching it. I know it’s so bad. I watched the first season, and I think that Emma has done such a phenomenal job. I think that they’re an impeccable actor and I’m really excited to see what they do next.”

House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max; new episodes air Sundays on HBO.

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