House of the Dragon: hit shows these 5 London-born actors starred in before HBO series

House of the Dragon fans have been left eagerly anticipating the next season, following the last episode of the hit HBO fantasy series.

The Game of Thrones prequel, which is set 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, was renewed for a second series just five days after it debuted in August this year.

It tells the story of two siblings who are fighting for the throne following the death of their father, and thereby cause a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.

Emma D’Arcy, Emily Carey, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel and Matthew Needham have each made London proud by taking on huge roles in the series.

Here, we take a look at what these London-born actors worked on before starring in House of the Dragon...

Emma D’Arcy

Emma D’Arcy, from Enfield, North London, portrays Princess/Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.

In 2011, Emma graduated from the Ruskin School of Art. They started a career in set designing and theatre, before moving on to acting.

Emma had their debut television role in 2018, as Naomi Richards in the BBC One and Netflix series Wanderlust.

The 30-year-old later had a role in Amazon Prime’s Truth Seekers in 2020. That same year, casting began for House of Dragons.

Emily Carey

Emily Carey, from Barnet, North London, plays young Lady/Queen Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon.

Emily’s acting career began on stage when she was just 10-years-old. She joined the cast of Casualty in 2014, where she starred in the role of Grace Beauchamp until 2017 and reprised it in 2021.

Like her role in House of the Dragon, she has also portrayed the young version of Diana Prince in Wonder Woman (2017), and the young version of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2018).

In 2020, the 19-year-old appeared in BBC’s teen series Get Even - which ran for one series.

Eve Best

Eve Best, who is from Ladbroke Grove in West London, portrays Princess Rhaenys Targaryen.

She began acting at just nine-years-old, when she performed as part of the W11 Opera children’s opera company in London.

In 2007, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten, and later performed in the revival of The Homecoming in 2008 and the revival of Old Times in 2015.

As for television roles, she was known for playing Dr. Eleanor O’Hara in Nurse Jackie from 2009 to 2013, before taking on the role of Monica Chatwin in BBC’s The Honourable Woman.

The 51-year-old has also played Wallis Simpson in the 2010 film The King’s Speech, and First Lady Dolley Madison in the 2011 American Experience television special.

Fabien Frankel

Fabien Frankel, from West London, took on the role of skilled swordsman Ser Criston Cole in House of the Dragon.

Fabien’s career also began on stage, when he starred in the 2017 production of The Knowledge at Charing Cross Theatre.

He then made his on screen debut in 2019 in the romantic comedy film Last Christmas, alongside London-born actress Emma Thompson.

In 2021, the 28-year-old appeared as Dominique Renelleau in crime drama The Serpent.

He has also been cast for an upcoming role in the independent comedy film Venice at Dawn.

Matthew Needham

Matthew Needham, from Kingston upon Thames in southwest London, plays Queen Alicent’s trusted confidante Larys Strong in House of the Dragon.

Matthew made his television debut as Toby de Silva in BBC’s Casualty, a role he hald from 2007 to 2009.

He later starred in the 2015 short film Stutterer, which won Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

In 2017, Matthew appeared in series 4 of ITV’s Canticle and ITV’s Sanditon.

The 38-year-old also played Stanley Kowalski in the BBC Radio 3 production of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.