"My broad discomfort with having my photo
taken means I often crave clothes that will wear me. 
I suppose the childish, cross part of me also likes the 
idea of trying to interrupt the stream of beauty 
images broadcast by traditional and social media. 
I like the idea of something slightly weird or strange 
turning up amongst those pictures. That felt like an 
underlying principle for the press tour of season 
one. The confusing thing about publicity events, 
premiers, invitation-only whatever-events, is the 
encompassing myth that states: this is not work, 
this is fun! and normal! But it isn’t normal. It’s
marketing. It’s orchestrated. It’s camera-facing. 
And it’s definitely work. I find it really helpful to 
re-contextualise those events as work. I love 
thinking through these things with Rose Forde. 
A big conversation we had last year was around 
the idea of a uniform – one outfit, in different 
colours possibly, that one could wear to every 
event – a work uniform."

Playful, charismatic, cheeky and impossibly 
eloquent, actor Emma D'Arcy's commitment to 
bucking expectations and forging their own 
path in the film industry has meant their fans have 
found freedom in places Emma had failed to find 
it growing up. Emma opens doors and urges 
others to follow, seemingly uttering: If it doesn’t 
exist already, go out and create it. 

Now, with House of the Dragon having returned 
for its sophomore season, two short films helmed 
by their own production company under their 
belt, and an upcoming debut at the Royal Court 
Theatre later this year – alongside actors Ben 
Whishaw and Kayla Meikle for Maggie Nelson’s 
Bluets – Emma’s own arc is characterised by the 
same beautifully haunting courage, vulnerability 
and generosity you find in their luminous 
performances on screen. So how did we get 
here and what creative life does Emma want 
to lead? Like, any good film plot – the latter is still 
up for debate. But something we do know? Every 
step is intentional. Here, their House of the Dragon 
co-star, Matthew Needham, got in touch to talk to our 
Summer 2024 cover star about their art school 
beginnings, finding their corner in film, the power 
of clothes, and why House of the Dragon season 
two allowed them to wear Rhaenyra better.

Pre-order the Summer 2024 issue now.