‘House of the Dragon’: As Rhaenys battled, Eve Best channeled Hillary Clinton https://t.co/5GEElioH0k
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 8, 2024
On thinking about any real-life figures in comparison to Rhaenys, “Absolutely, 100%, almost every single great woman you can think of [has] an element of [Rhaenys]. Sara Hess, who’s one of the executive producers and the lead writers for the show, said to me on the first day, ‘There’s so much of Hillary Clinton [in Rhaenys].’ God knows you couldn’t compare Viserys to the other one [former President Trump], but the similarities are very clear — to see that the person who is absolutely, hands down, best suited for the job is sidelined simply because she’s a woman, and then has to somehow find her way.
“One of the things that gave me the most respect for Hillary Clinton was in the aftermath of [the 2016 election], how she navigated her role/non-role and brilliantly maintained her dignity, self-respect and leadership. That felt like territory that Rhaenys was treading.”
Spoilers:
On riding a dragon and the final battle, “Technically, it’s incredibly demanding and exhausting. I certainly feel my age, I don’t think this is my comfort zone at all. I kept having to ask for many more cushions. It was two weeks solid, just me, all morning and evening, all afternoon, doing quite a lot of physical stuff. That was a challenge. But the more challenging part was the emotional story. The moment of their joint demise was my penultimate shot. The buildup to it was quite intense. I was feeling a lot of pressure to make a good death, to do the character justice.
“Ryan very sweetly came to set and gave a lovely speech, saying goodbye. The spotlight on this moment just became more and more unbearable. It was complicated to do the camera angles, and they had to prep for everything. I was standing about, waiting and feeling more anxious. By the time [we got to it], I was a pressure cooker ready to explode. I was strapped on — and it was over in a flash. We did two takes, and that was it, which was perfect. In that moment, what was key about it for her was this absolute letting go and acceptance. This is exactly what one goes through as an actor: In the end, you have to just let go and accept because you’re not in control.”
