Milly Alcock swore off franchises before taking on Supergirl

Milly Alcock swore she would never star in another big franchise project before entering the DC Universe as Supergirl.

The Australian actress rose to fame playing young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Game of Thrones spin-off series House of the Dragon, and after her stint concluded in 2022, she swore off joining another big franchise.

However, after making the 2025 Netflix miniseries Sirens, Alcock didn't work for a year, and professional anxiety began to creep in.

"I was so s**t-scared that my life was over at 22. And, of course, it wasn't," she told Vanity Fair, before adding of Supergirl: "I kind of bullied myself into it."

Alcock made her debut as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, Superman's cousin, with a cameo appearance alongside David Corenswet in 2025's Superman, and she will lead the upcoming Supergirl, which hits cinemas on 26 June.

The actress admitted that working on House of the Dragon has prepared her for the inevitable backlash she'll face as a woman in a superhero and fantasy space.

"It definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on. We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women's bodies," she stated. "I can't really stop them. I can only be myself."

That being said, Alcock confessed that she is "scared" about the film's reception, adding, "Of course I want people to like me and the movie. But ultimately, it's out of my control."

The screen star also revealed that during production, she kept getting "crazy dreams" about herself being "at the foot of a tsunami" and they abated once filming concluded.

"She's given this incredible responsibility and doesn't know how to deal with it," Alcock said of her character. "So she kind of suffocates herself and goes on a journey of self-discovery... (I realised) That's me, man. I'm the mess."

She quickly added, "I'm not the mess anymore."