Emma Zia D'Arcy (born 27 June 1992 in London) is an English actor.
They started off as a stage set designer before branching out into acting and are known for the roles of Naomi Richards in Wanderlust, Sonia Richter in Hanna, Astrid in Truth Seekers and their big break, Rhaenyra Targaryen in HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon.
D'Arcy is non-binary, using they/them pronouns, and has no relation to James D'Arcy.
Filmography:
Film:
- Misbehaviour (2020) as Hazel
- Mothering Sunday (2021) as Emma Hobday
Television:
- Wanderlust (2018) as Naomi Richards
- Wild Bill (2019) as Alma
- Hanna (2020) as Sonia Richter
- Truth Seekers (2020) as Astrid
- House of the Dragon (2022-) as Rhaenyra Targaryen
Others:
- "Too Much Love"
by Little Cub (2017, music video) - "Alex sketch three" by Susanne Sundfør (2024, music video)
Tropes & Trivia in their works:
- Star-Making Role: Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, of course. It earned them a Golden Globe nomination as well.
- Time-Shifted Actor: Plays adult Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon starting with the sixth episode of Season 1 (their voice, however, was first heard with the series' Opening Monologue in the first episode), while Milly Alcock played younger Rhaenyra in the five previous episodes. D'Arcy was cast as Rhaenyra first (since they'll carry the role for the rest of the series), then Alcock was cast based on D'Arcy.
- What Could Have Been: In mid-2022, D'Arcy joined the cast of Anna, a film about murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who investigated war crimes of The Chechnya Wars and human rights violations in The New Russia (specifically as Vera Politkovskaya, Anna's daughter). They then dropped out of the film in November 2022 due to scheduling conflicts with filming of the second season of House of the Dragon. Naomi Battrick (Jamestown) got the role instead.
