Milly Alcock set Twitter on fire this week thanks to her drunken performance on stage at the Golden Globes.
The House Of The Dragon star is a rising star thanks to her role as a young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the hit Game Of Thrones prequel.
Her starring role meant moving around the world, swapping her mother’s Sydney attic for a flat in picturesque London’s Primrose Hill, where she shares a postcode with her HotD co-star Matt Smith.
‘She’s drunk as hell!’ Milly Alcock (centre) set Twitter on fire this week thanks to her drunken performance on stage at the Golden Globes
Milly started her acting career at a young age and admitted that she was always independent and driven while growing up in Sydney with her mum and dad and two brothers.
An early school production of Little Red Rocking Hood lit the fire, and a young Milly chased “that euphoric feeling” she found on stage.
She enrolled in a performing arts high school without telling her parents and snagged an agent at age 13.
“I called the agency like, ‘Hello, can I have an audition?’ because I learned very early on that no one was going to do that for me,” she said.
Breakout role: The House Of The Dragon star is a rising star thanks to her role as a young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the hit Game Of Thrones prequel
She made her first appearance on the small screen in the Channel 10 series Wonderland, which premiered in 2014. She later appeared in the Australian series Janet King.
Her film roles include The School (2018), The Gloaming (2020) and Reckoning (2019) while she hosted her own show The BF Chefs, which aired on Disney Channel and was filmed in her hometown of Sydney.
The actress also has a number of TV commercials for big brands like Cadbury, KFC and Woolworths under her name.
When she was cast as troubled teenage Meg alongside comedian Tim Minchin on Australian road trip comedy series Upright, she made an important decision – dropping out of school to film the project.
Star rising: When she was cast as troubled teenager Meg alongside comedian Tim Minchin in the Australian road trip comedy series Upright, she made an important decision to drop out of school
“I knew this opportunity would be a much more valuable experience than getting my piece of paper,” she told Vogue.
“I didn’t doubt it for a second. I was almost too impulsive. I said, ‘No, that’s what I’ve been working towards and I’ve been given this amazing opportunity with this amazing cast and beautiful script.’
She also told Gold Coast Bulletin in 2020 that school was never for her and she’s glad she discovered acting.
“It wasn’t my seat. I’ve never been well. I was really struggling and really wanted to do well,” said Milly. “It just wasn’t for me. I didn’t have great teachers looking at me until I found acting where I felt safe. So, yes, it was the right decision.’
Upright was an eight-part series about two misfits, Lucky (Tim) and Meg (Milly), who find each other and form an unlikely friendship. They bond during a road trip through the Australian desert while transporting a prized piano across the country.
Opportunity: Milly was living in the attic of her mother’s farmhouse in Australia washing dishes between acting roles when she sent off two selfies for an ‘unknown HBO project’ (pictured aged 19 in 2019)
In March 2022, Milly traveled back to Australia to film the second season of the acclaimed comedy.
Due to the success of Upright, Milly decided to leave Australia to really pursue her dreams.
“There is no budget,” she told the Evening Standard of her home country’s attitude towards art.
“The government really doesn’t fund the arts. There is no appreciation for the art at all. People don’t really go to the theater; they can’t afford it.
Living in the attic of her mother’s farmhouse in Australia, she was washing dishes between acting roles when she submitted two selfies for an “undisclosed HBO project.”
Big move: Milly relocated to the UK in early 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, to start filming for the HBO series and became friends with her castmates in a town where she hardly knew anyone (pictured on set with co- Star Emily Carey).
She shot the audition tape with the help of a friend, having no idea what the project was since HBO removed the names from the script.
However, her friend quickly found out, telling her: “This is a Game of Thrones scene. This is the scene with Arya Stark.”
Speaking to Stellar magazine, Milly recalled the moment she heard she’d won the role in House of the Dragon: “I never thought this would happen to me. I washed dishes in a restaurant and lived in my mother’s attic.”
“That doesn’t happen to people like me, so it happened incredibly quickly. I froze, took a deep breath and said to my friend, ‘Do you have any wine?’ Then I called my mother.”
Milly relocated to the UK in early 2021 in the midst of the pandemic to start filming for the HBO series and became friends with her castmates in a town where she hardly knew anyone.
Fast-forward to 2023 and the now-famous face flew to Los Angeles with her co-stars to watch the show earn the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series.
Big production: Speaking to Stellar magazine, Milly recalled the moment she heard she’d won the role in The House of the Dragon: ‘I never thought this would happen to me’ (pictured filming in year 2021)
Milly stole the spotlight during the show’s acceptance speech and looked heartbroken as she clung to her co-star Emma D’Arcy (who took on the older version of Alcock’s Rhaenyra).
Viewers begged Milly “damn drunk” to “have some bread” as she, Emma and director Miguel Sapochnik accepted the Best TV Series award for the hit show, with clips of the moment going viral.
Milly embarks on new ventures after House Of The Dragon made a 10 year time jump after episode six.
Rhaenyra Targaryen has been replaced by her aging co-star Emma D’Arcy, and series creator Ryan Condal has admitted he’s not sure Milly can take on the role.
‘[Flashbacks] are not yet part of the story that we are telling,” he told Variety.
Not at all keen on returning to the fantasy genre, Milly reveals that while she is “grateful” for the freedom her role has given her to choose future projects, she will veer away from similar roles.
“I don’t want to do that. I did it and I don’t have to do it again. I’m just kind of waiting for the right project. I’m in no hurry to jump on anything,” she told the Herald Sun.
“I’d rather not work much and do work that I’m really proud of and passionate about. When you sign up for a project you have to get used to talking about it six months or a year of your life so you want to make sure you really love it and I’m waiting for this project to come and surprise me. ‘
Glam: Fast forward to 2023 and Milly flew to Los Angeles with her co-stars to watch her show win the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series this week