• HBO's "House of the Dragon" follows the Targaryen family centuries before "Game of Thrones."

• The drama has plenty of actors you might recognize from other shows and movies.

• Matt Smith previously starred on "The Crown," and Rhys Ifans had a memorable role in "Notting Hill."

Milly Alcock stars as young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.

This is Alcock's first major role. She previously appeared on the Starz drama "The Gloaming," Australian series "Upright," and in the horror film "The School."

The role of young Alicent Hightower is played by Emily Carey.

Carey played younger versions of the main characters in both "Wonder Woman (2017) and "Tomb Raider" (2018).

Paddy Considine plays King Viserys Targaryen.

Considine played Detective Wainwright in "Hot Fuzz." He also starred in "The World's End," "The Bourne Ultimatum," and period drama "Peaky Blinders."

Matt Smith stars as Rhaenyra's uncle (and Viserys' brother), Prince Daemon Targaryen.

Fans might know him best as the eleventh iteration of the Doctor on the BBC's sci-fi series "Doctor Who." Smith also notably played a young Prince Philip in "The Crown," and appeared in "Last Night in Soho" and "Morbius."

The older version of Princess Rhaenyra is played by Emma D'Arcy.

D'Arcy played Astrid on the Amazon series "Truth Seekers." They also appeared in the film "Misbehaviour," which also featured their "House of the Dragon" costar Rhys Ifans.

Olivia Cooke plays the older version of Alicent Hightower.

Cooke costarred in the 2018 film "Ready Player One." She also played Emma on the "Psycho" prequel series "Bates Motel," appeared on Amazon's "Modern Love," and had roles in "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" and "Life Itself."

Ser Criston Cole, a knight of the Kingsguard, is played by Fabian Frankel.

Frankel also appeared on the crime drama "The Serpent," based on a series of real-life murders in the 1970s.

Rhys Ifans plays Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King and father of Alicent.

Ifans has a long list of acting credits to his name. He played Xenophilius Lovegood in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," and starred as Dr. Curt Connors in "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012) and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021). He also had a small but memorable role as Spike in the 1999 rom-com "Notting Hill."

Steve Toussaint portrays Lord Corlys Velaryon, also known as the Sea Snake.

Toussaint has been cast on numerous TV shows, including "CSI: Miami," "Skins," "Doctor Who," and Steve McQueen's "Small Axe." He also appeared in the 2010 film "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," and in the 2015 remake of "Point Break."

Eve Best plays Rhaenys Targaryen, known as "The Queen Who Never Was."

Best previously appeared in Netflix's "Fate: The Winx Saga," the Oscar-winning movie "The King's Speech," and the TV series "Nurse Jackie."

Graham McTavish was cast as Ser Harrold Westerling, one of the knights of the Kingsguard.

This isn't his first time in a fantasy franchise: McTavish played Dwalin in "The Hobbit" trilogy starting in 2011, and also costarred in "Outlander."

Sonoya Mizuno plays Mysaria, a mysterious Mistress of Whisperers in King's Landing.

Mizuno has costarred in acclaimed movies like "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Ex Machina," as well as Hulu's sci-fi series "Devs."

The role of Lord Beesbury (a member of the Small Council) is played by notable actor Bill Paterson.

Paterson recently costarred in the beloved TV series "Fleabag," and is also know for movies like "Miss Potter" and "Kingdom of Heaven."

For more on "House of the Dragon," read our breakdown of the details you might have missed in the latest episode here.

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