After Game of Thrones‘ domination at pretty much every possible award show while it was on air, it was only to be expected that HBO would be hoping to do the same with House of the Dragon. Sure enough, Gold Derby reports that no less than 12 actors have been put forward for awards consideration, including one each for lead actor and lead actress respectively and five each for supporting actor and actress.
However, the cast of House of the Dragon poses a challenge to the gendered nature of the awards system. Here’s a look at every actor and actress being sent forward for awards consideration – and why we think gender-neutral awards categories should be introduced.
Every ‘House of the Dragon’ Actor Sent for Awards Consideration
Lead Actor: Paddy Considine as King Viserys
Lead Actress: Emma D’Arcy as Adult Princess Rhaenyra
Supporting Actors: Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, and Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
Supporting Actresses: Milly Alcock as young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Emily Carey as young Alicent Hightower, Olivia Cooke as adult Alicent Hightower, and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
Emma D’Arcy, as a non-binary actor, has presumably given consent to be entered as an actress, likely due to their character Rhaenyra being a woman. Still, their placement in an incorrect gender category begs the question as to whether we need gender-neutral acting categories to be introduced to better represent the various genders that actors might identify with.
While we hope that D’Arcy doesn’t mind being entered into awards as an actress (it’s likely the best way of getting as many cast members into as wide a spread of awards as possible), they shouldn’t need to fit into one box or another in order to be recognized for their outstanding talent.
Still, it seems doubtful that fresh categories will be introduced for this year’s awards season. We can only hope that having more non-binary actors like D’Arcy in leading roles like this will spark more conversation about how to best represent multiple genders and gender fluidity throughout the awards season.
(featured image: HBO)
