Warning: This article contains spoilers fromHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 3.
“A Scottish sorceress, Queen in the 1600s,” she said.
Well, her role onHouse of the Dragonseason 2 comes pretty darn close.
Gayle Rankin’s Alys Rivers on ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2.Ollie Upton/HBO
“I’m really obsessed with pagan power.
I’m a Celtic woman.
I have that in my blood,” Rankin tellsEntertainment Weeklyof stepping into the role.
Gayle Rankin at the red carpet of the 2024 Tony Awards.Dia Dipasupil/Getty
“I just want to be riding a horse, but maybe I’ll end up riding a dragon.
Alys' nickname, “the Witch Queen of Harrenhal” fromGeorge R.R.
Martin’s bookFire and Blood, stuck with her.
Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen on ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2.HBO
“That made me excited,” she says.
“I was definitely carrying that energy with me.”
In the text, no one definitively knows Alys' true age.
(Rankin held onto that detail, as well.)
I’m always fascinated by and drawn to female characters who are tossed around by society and culture.
That task proved to be an on-going project, she says.
“This person can tell the future, basically,” Rankin continues.
“She’s someone who has all of this power, who’s been alive for potentially 400 years.
How do we make her a person with a beating heart and wants and desires?
I hope that’s felt inside of our exploration with her.
That includes unraveling Daemon and forcing the Targaryen prince to face the demons of his past.
“What are they learning from each other?
There’s clearly a match happening here.”
I mostly do everything with that in mind.
That’s how I picked my role: ‘Would Sheila watch this?'”
“They’re certainly not connected in any way.
