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Game of Thrones’ final season actually made perfect sense

After a decade of extreme emotional investment, Game of Thrones’ eighth and final season in 2019 really failed to impress its legion of fans.

While there were a whole host of criticisms, from it feeling “rushed” to having no consistency on previous seasons, arguably the most deafening outcry was aimed at Daenerys Targaryen’s King’s Landing death ride – in which she burned thousands of innocents despite her victory having already been sealed with the rings of the surrender bells.

She got what she wanted, she defeated Cersei Lannister, why did she proceed to murder a whole city?

It didn’t make sense, many argued, with a petition to rewrite the final season notching half a million signatures at the time. Even GoT author George RR Martin admitted writers Dan Weiss and David Benioff went in a different direction than what he would have wanted.

Danny was the heroin of this story. The ethereally beautiful, silver-haired dark horse who rose from the ashes – dragons in tow – to follow her destiny and rule a better Westeros.

She showed empathy throughout her campaign. Moral judgment. She promised to “break the wheel” to her army of oppressed followers of her.

While those things are true, if you were stunned by Dany’s fall from grace in season 8 you simply weren’t paying close enough attention.

UK actress Emilia Clarke told Entertainment Weekly in 2020 she was “flabbergasted” by her beloved character’s fate, but there were a long list of moments that foreshadowed Dany’s destruction.

In the first season, Daenerys watches her brother Viserys die in brutal fashion – appearing stone cold emotionless as he begged for mercy at the hands of the Dothraki.

While, granted, Viserys was an awful person, Dany’s lack of empathy in this moment hinted at her darker side.

And then in season 2, the very early days of Dany’s campaign to the kingdom, she made it clear she was a force to be reckoned with, capable of doing the very thing she did in season 8.

Speaking to The Spice King in Qarth, in a desperate bid to convince him to let her take his fleet, Dany proclaimed: “I am Daenerys Stormborn of the blood of old Valyria and I will take what is mine. With fire and blood, I will take it.”

In the same episode, she declares: “When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me and destroy those who have wronged me. We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground!”

And then, in season 4, Dany crucifies 163 Great Masters in Meereen for their treatment of slave children – never mind that some were innocent. She says: “I will crucify the masters. I will set their fleets to fire. I will kill every last one of their soldiers and return their cities to the dirt. That’s my plan.”

Catch up on Game of Thrones on BINGE before the global premiere of House of the Dragon on Binge and Foxtel from August 22. Sign up at binge.com.au

Season 6 ended in a blaze of glory when Dany burned all the Dothraki lords within the dosh khaleen in one fell swoop after they had taken her prisoner.

Again, these dudes were bad men. But it showed just how much Dany enjoyed burning her oppressors alive.

One of her most brutal moments was in season 7, when Dany was given the choice of either killing or imprisoning the commendable Lord Tarly and his son Dickon after the Unsullied won a battle against Lannister forces. So, what does she do? She burns the duo in broad daylight. She relished in it.

Lord Varys’ death of the same nature in the eighth season was equally hard to swallow.

Having killed countless people at this point, it’s fair to assume the lines will eventually become blurred.

Which brings us to the rest of that fateful season. Dany repeatedly persists on going with her her first instinct – attacking King’s Landing without mercy. She’s talked out of it by Tyrion and co, but she never really seems on-board with taking the high road.

She then witnesses Cersei direct the Mountain to behead her loyal adviser, Missandei, only days after she watched Jorah Mormont die in the bloody battle against the white walkers. At this point, after repeatedly being told to be a good girl in the face of personal loss, she is well and truly on the brink of a psychotic break.

Her finale rampage was clearly a brain snap, which may have felt “rushed” at the moment, but the evidence that she was capable of having one without using her moral judgment was there all along.

The people of King’s Landing weren’t going to support her rule. She knew this. She was hungry for loyal followers. And in that split second, as she had done countless times before, she burned them all.

And a quick look at her lineage shows why the moment wasn’t supposed to make sense.

Dany’s father, King Aerys II Targaryen, who is referenced multiple times in GoT, was known as the ‘Mad King’. His transformation of him from benevolent leader (hello, Dany?) To murderous psycho (looking at you, Dany) was supposedly brought on by an incestuous bloodline – one of which Dany inherited.

Aerys began displaying traits of insanity, sadistic intentions, schizophrenia, and paranoia regarding his own claim to the Throne, and just straight-up burnt people who he thought was against him.

It’s surely not farfetched that the apple ultimately didn’t fall far from the tree.

While Dany was inarguably the pin-up character of GoTand the frontrunner among fans to make it to the top, I would question whether or not we would’ve been satisfied if the credits rolled with her sitting perched on the Iron Throne.

Or perhaps you were on the side who wanted Jon Snow to rule – what do you propose they were they going to do with Dany? She may have loved him, but she was no First Lady, as Tyrion pointed out to Jon in the finale.

So what was the other option? What was going to be a plot twist but also make sense?

The very outcome we were given.

Dany was never going to “break the wheel”. She was simply too desperate for power to lead peacefully. A bit like that rogue lady who led the Hunger Games rebellion.

And as for Jon, well, he never wanted to rule. The humble hero’s final act was thwarting evil, even at a serious personal cost, and he was sent back to the Night’s Watch where he’d spent a lot of time as one of the leading advocates amid the mostly-blind threat of the white walkers . It was a bitter pill, but it was on-brand.

There is a notion that those who are hungry for power aren’t cut out for fair and balanced leadership. Which is why Bran Stark – albeit a tad underwhelming – was the obvious choice at the end.

As for Cersei’s underwhelming death. I hear the argument that one of TV’s most evil villains should have had a more epic demise.

But I found it quite fitting that someone who caused so much anguish died in a rather pathetic fashion – crumbled by falling rocks in the basement of her empire.

Arya Stark already killed the Night King in The Long Night. Having her de ella carry out another big kill just would n’t have carried the same delirium.

And because Cersei’s brother/lover Jamie Lannister – who had a brilliant character arc with moments of redemption – was with her, it did have to have an element of poignancy.

Perhaps Dany’s downfall will make more sense with the upcoming prequel, House of the Dragonwhich focuses solely on just how mad the Targaryen family was around 200 years before the events of GoT.

House of the Dragon premieres express from the US on Foxtel and Binge August 22

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Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke: Who’s who in the House of the Dragon cast?

Audiences are about to plunge into the world of House of the Dragon, and just like its predecessor Game of Thrones, its ensemble cast is made up of well-known stars and “where have I seen them before?” faces.

Here are the main thesps and the roles that brought them to this moment in their professional lives.

matt smith

Character: Prince Daemon Targaryen

English actor Matt Smith is probably most famous face of House of the Dragons‘ ensemble cast, having played British cultural icons Doctor Who and Prince Philip.

Before nabbing the role of the Eleventh Doctor, Smith’s most prominent role had been in 2007 miniseries Party Animals, portraying a political staffer. As David Tennant’s time traveler replacement, Smith was catapulted into the stratosphere when he became the youngest actor to take on the Doctor. He was in the role for three series and five specials.

He followed that up by stepping into Prince Philip’s very expensive, custom-made shoes for two seasons of The Crown, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award. Smith was praised for capturing the Duke of Edinburgh’s hautiness as well as the royal’s vulnerability to her as the Queen’s mostly powerless consort.

But his time on The Crown was embroiled in controversy when it was revealed Smith had been paid more than his co-star Claire Foy, despite Foy having the larger, more demanding and title role. Foy’s salary was later upped to match his.

Smith parlayed his TV celebrity into movie roles in Terminator Genisys, Charlie Says (where he played Charles Manson), His House and as villainous creeps in Edgar Wright’s stylish thriller Last Night in Soho and comic book vampire flick Morbius. Most recently, he took on the role of a wealthy party host in The Forgivenwhich also starred Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes.

Olivia Cooke

Character: Lady Alicent Hightower

Treading the boards since she was eight years old, Olivia Cooke got her start through a local theater workshop in her hometown of Oldham.

Her first big break came when she landed the role of Emma Decody in Bates Matela prequel series to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Her character de ella had started the show as Norman Bates’ love interest and managed to survive the whole five seasons.

Cooke followed that up as William Thackeray’s scheming social climber Becky Sharp in the 2018 TV adaptation of Vanity Fair – great experience for her role as the manipulative Alicent in House of the Dragon.

On the silver screen, Cooke has been in a raft of studio and indie movies including Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Thoroughbreads, Sound of Metal, pixie and as one of the leads in Steven Spielberg’s big budget sci-fi epic Ready Player One.

HOTD isn’t Cooke’s only prominent TV role this year – she was also one of the leads in Apple TV+’s spy show Slow Horsesopposite Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas. Slow Horses has already been renewed for four seasons.

Paddy Considine

Character: King Viserys I Targaryen

A constant presence in film and on TV, English star Paddy Considine has had memorable roles over the years, including as the doomed journalist weaving his way through Waterloo Station in the Bourne Ultimate – it was one of the most suspenseful sequences to feature in a spy thriller, so that’s saying a lot.

His most high-profile film projects have included Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth, The Death of Stalin, Miss You Already, Cinderella Man and two of Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End.

On the smaller screen, Considine had starred in a series of TV movies called The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and had been making a splash in recent years as a recurring character on Peaky BlindersStephen King adaptation The Outsider and Jude Law series The Third Day.

He’s also a filmmaker, having written and directed Tyrannosaurusa feature he adapted from his own short film, and which starred Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan and Peter Mullan.

Stream House of the Dragon from August 22 on BINGE. New customers get a 14-day free trial. Sign up at binge.com.au

Emma D’Arcy

Character: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

Emma D’Arcy is a relative newcomer on the scene, compared to some of their more experienced scene partners, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hold their presence on screen.

They have been in several theater productions at smaller venues, including The Crucible, romeo and juliet and Pillowman While their TV roles have included the divisive Netflix miniseries Wanderlust, the promptly canceled Rob Lowe drama Wild Bill and Hanna. They were one of the leads in Nick Frost and Simon Pegg’s supernatural comedy Truth Seekers.

On film, D’Arcy has been in misbehaviora Keira Knightley dramedy about the feminist protest at the 1970 Miss World Competition, and mothering sundaya romantic drama which starred Odessa Young, Olivia Colman and Colin Firth.

House of the Dragon will be their most prominent role yet.

Milly Alcock

Character: Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

House of the Dragon will be the young Australian actor’s first international role, and what a platform on which to step up for your global debut.

Alcock, all of 22 years old, has been in many local productions, starting with guest and recurring roles in TV shows such as Wonderland, Janet King and A Place to Call Home. She was also in Foxtel show fighting season, Les Norton, Reckoning, The Gloaming and ABC series pine gapthe latter of which was a Netflix co-financed production.

But her most prominent role so far has been the scene-stealing co-lead in right, the drama developed, co-written by and starring Tim Minchin. Alcock has also wrapped filming on a second season of the series.

Steve Toussaint

Character: Lord Corlys Velaryon

Steve Toussaint has been a prolific actor in his near three-decade career on screen.

From one of his earliest roles as a nondescript squadron leader in the critically reviled Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd to playing John Boyega’s dad in Alexander McQueen’s Small AxToussaint leaves his mark.

He’s been in a raft of British TV shows such as Holby City, Bill, doctors, My Dad’s the Prime Minister, The Knock, It’s a Sin, death in paradise and Silent Witness – and like most British actors who have been around on TV long enough, he’s played a cop a bunch of times.

Eve Best

Character: Princess Rhaenys Velaryon

The RADA-trained actor is most recognized for her role on Nurse Jackie as Edie Falco’s onscreen best friend, a role she played for five seasons.

Also on TV, Best has been in Prime Suspect: The Final Act, Vital Signs, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, The American Experience and in all eight episodes of the Maggie Gyllenhaal-led political thriller The Honorable Woman.

If you were lucky enough to have seen Best in theatre, you may have witnessed her on stage in a bunch of Royal National Theater and Shakespeare’s Globe productions including Macbeth, The Cherry Orchard, The Coast of Utopia and Much Ado About Nothing.

Her best known film role was as American divorcee Wallis Simpson in Oscar winner The King’s Speech.

Sonoya Mizuno

Character: Mysaria

Former ballet dancer and model Sonoya Mizuno got her first big break in Alex Garland’s Former Machineas an AI android who was abused by her creator, played by Oscar Isaac.

Mizuno’s partnership with Garland continued in the filmmaker’s next work, Annihilation, but you may not have seen her face – she was the mirror dancing alien in that bonkers scene at the end with Natalie Portman. In Garland’s next project, the cerebral and philosophical miniseries devshe cast Mizuno as the lead, a computer engineer who is pulled into a plot after the disappearance of his partner.

She is also known for her appearance in Crazy Rich Asiansas the bride Araminta Lee, and shared a screen with Emma Stone in two projects, La La Land and Netflix series manic.

Rhys Ifans

Character: Ser Otto Hightower

What hasn’t Rhys Ifans done? The Welsh actor and musician gives Matt Smith a run for his money from him as the most recognizable star in House of the Dragon.

Ifans stole every scene he was in as Hugh Grant’s kooky and exhibitionist housemate in Notting Hill, among his many film credits which includes LittleNicky, The Replacements, The Shipping News, Vanity Fair, Enduring Love, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Boat That Rocked, The Five-Year Engagement and Official Secrets.

Younger fans might know him as the conspiracy loving Xenophilius Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies while he’s also played the slithering and clobbering villain Dr Curt Connors/Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Manthe latter was a role he recently reprised via voice performance in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

On TV, Ifans had a recurring role as Mycroft Holmes in Elementary and he was one of the leads in berlin station.

He also had a memorable starring role in the film clip to Oasis song, “The Importance of Being Idle”.

Fabien Frankel

Character: Ser Criston Cole

Fabien Frankel has only been in the business for a few years but he made an impression in Netflix true crime series The Serpentin which he played Dominique Renelleau, a real-life French backpacker who managed to escape death at the hands of serial killer Charles Sobhraj.

He has also had parts in the NYPD Blue TV movie reboot, an episode of An Uncandid Portraitthe Emilia Clarke rom-com Last Christmas and is one of the leads in the upcoming farce comedy Venice at Dawn.

House of the Dragon will premiere on Monday 22 August at the same time as the US, streaming on Binge. The series will also be available to watch on Foxtel in 4K Ultra HD

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How much did House of the Dragon cost HBO to make?

More dragons. More money.

HBO’s upcoming fantasy series House of the Dragon reportedly cost even more to make than game of Thrones, Variety reports.

The 10-episode debut season of HotDwhich will premiere its first episode on Binge and Foxtel in Australia on August 22, is said to have racked up a bill of around $300 million.

In comparison, the eighth and final season of GoT cost about $130 million.

While thrones had fewer episodes than HotD for its final season, coming in at just six episodes, the prequel still cost more on a per-episode basis at just under $28.75 million per episode, compared to the $22 million it took to make each episode of GoT.

Back in 2011, before it became an international phenomenon, Thrones’ The first season was allocated $9 million an episode.

But with more computer-generated imagery required thanks to the amount of dragons involved in the storyline (there’s apparently 17 dragons), not to mention immense pressure due to the popularity of thronesit makes sense HBO allocated a substantial amount of cash for the hotly-anticipated prequel series.

In thrones, only Daenerys Targaryen is blessed with owning dragons, which were incredibly rare. However, the mythical creatures fly rampant in HotDwith almost every key character owning one.

Stream House of the Dragon from August 22 on BINGE or on FOXTEL. New BINGE customers get a 14-day free trial. Sign up at binge.com.au

It’s certainly an expensive genre, with Amazon’s upcoming The Lord of the Rings prequel series The Rings of Power reportedly racking up an eye-watering $668 million bill to produce its first season, comprising of eight episodes.

House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of the hit fantasy series, and will focus on the rise and fall of House Targaryen after the family becomes embroiled in a nasty civil war.

It’s based on George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire companion Book, Fire&Bloodwith Martin also having co-created the show alongside TV writer Ryan Condal.

House of the Dragon will premiere on Monday 22 August at the same time as the US, streaming on Binge. The series will also be available to watch on Foxtel in 4K Ultra HD

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Game of Thrones star Sean Bean says intimacy coordinators ‘spoil the spontaneity’ of sex scenes

Actor Sean Bean has hit out at the presence of intimacy coordinators on movie and TV productions.

the game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings star, 63, said in a profile interview with The Times UK intimacy coordinators “spoil the spontaneity” of sex scenes.

“It would inhibit me more because it’s drawing attention to things. Somebody saying, ‘Do this, put your hands there, while you touch his thing… I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise,” Bean said.

But acting is generally considered a technical exercise in which an actor is directed by somebody who tells them what to say and do.

Intimacy coordinators are increasingly common on sets to ensure that actors are comfortable with the physical movements required in a sex scene. The inclusion of intimacy coordinators has been supercharged in the wake of the MeToo movement.

Intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien explained to news.com.au in 2020 what her job entailed. She said: “We have an understanding of physicality, body movements and anatomy, and of an actor’s process and how they can serve the script.

“We want to know what’s not suitable for you as a person, and we can work creatively with an actor with your agreement and consent and help the production. When we work from a clear ‘yes’ from the actors, it’ll be a way better sex scene.

“Then once you get in front of the camera, your actors can be free because they know they can trust where they’re going to be touched and where they’re touching their fellow actor.”

Bean made the comments in the context of Lady Chatterleya 1993 TV movie with him and Joely Richardson.

He said of his experience: “Lady Chatterley was spontaneous. It was joy. We had a good chemistry between us and we knew what we were doing was unusual because she was married, I was married.

“But we were following the story. We were trying to portray the truth of what DH Lawrence wrote.”

Bean also told The Times UK of a scene from his current series Snowpiercer which featured him and another actor – later revealed to be co-star Lena Hall – in the nude and involving a mango.

“I think they cut a bit out actually,” he said. “Often the best work you do – where you’re trying to push the boundaries and the very nature of it is experimental – gets censored when TV companies or advertisers say it’s too much. It’s a nice scene, quite surreal, dream-like and abstract. And mango-esque.”

when The Times UK reporter pointed out to Bean that intimacy coordinators are often there to protect actors, Bean responded by saying it depended on the actor and that Hall “had a musical cabaret background so she was up for anything”.

Hall later responded on Twitter by saying that she felt completely comfortable with Bean in that scene but she still saw the value of intimacy coordinators.

She wrote: “If I feel comfortable with my scene partner and with others in the room then I won’t need an intimacy coordinator. But if there is any part of me that is feeling weird, gross, over-exposed etc, I will either challenge the necessity of the scene or I’ll want an (intimacy coordinator).

“I do feel intimacy coordinators are a welcome addition to the set and think they could also help with the trauma experienced in other scenes. Sometimes you need them and sometimes you don’t but every single person and scene and experience is different.”

Stream the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon on BINGE or FOXTEL from August 22. New BINGE customers get a 14-day free trial.

Hall also clarified that her professional background is in theater and not cabaret, although she occasionally performs cabaret, but that “does not mean that I am up for anything”.

Other actors have also come out in defense of intimacy coordinators, including West Side Story breakout Rachel Zegler.

She wrote on Twitter: “Intimacy coordinators establish an environment of safety for actors. I was extremely grateful for the one we had on (West Side Story) – they showed grace to a newcomer like myself + educated those around me who’ve had years of experience. Spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe. Wake up.”

An infamous incident of an unsafe set environment is the experience of actor Maria Schneider, who as a 19-year-old filmed a rape scene in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 film Last Tango in Paris.

She said the scene, which involved penetration with a stick of butter, wasn’t in the original shooting script and she was only told of it in the moments before filming. Bertolucci has said that he had n’t told her about the scene because he wanted her performance by her to be real and rageful.

Later recalling the order, Schneider said: “I was so angry. I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, by both Marlon (Brando) and by Bertolucci.”

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Matt Smith reveals downside of filming House of the Dragon

It’s Matt Smith as you’ve rarely seen him.

The 39-year-old British actor has taken on his boldest role yet in HBO’s upcoming House of the Dragonthe much-anticipated prequel to game of Thrones debuting locally on Binge and Foxtel August 22.

Smith, who is best known for becoming the youngest actor to helm Doctor Who from 2010,-2014 as well as his Emmy-nominated performance as Prince Philip in Netflix’s The Crownenter the thrones-sphere as Prince Daemon Targaryen.

The main antagonist – Daemon is the impulsive, power-hungry brother of King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) in a world set around 200 years before the events of GoT.

While joining a franchise as universally lauded as thrones was reason enough to jump on-board, it was the complexities of this character that enticed Smith most.

“I thought he was really interesting and unknown. And I thought I could add something to him,” Smith says.

“I think you always feel an element of nerves going into every part, it felt sort of slightly outside of anything I’d done before, which is which is why I was attracted to do it.”

That’s not to say I loved every minute of it.

Smith says the nature of this production took an extreme physical and emotional toll on him. From sitting in the makeup chair for two hours to having the iconic Targaryen silver-haired wig fitted, to waiting around in hot, heavy armor.

“It was a great privilege to be apart of something like this, but it was grievous as well. It was a tough shoot. And it was a year over Covid and it wasn’t easy. It’s not like it was just bells and whistles,” he says.

“And this type of show, there’s so many characters in it. There’s a lot of hanging about on the set.”

Stream House of the Dragon on BINGE or watch on FOXTEL from August 22. New BINGE customers get a 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly. Sign up at binge.com.au

Admittedly, Smith feels overwhelmed on every set, saying his roles become his “sole focus.”

So, how does he stay sane?

“A pint of Guinness, watch some football. Go to the gym, do the normal stuff, walk my dog, you know, [I would] just go and do something that had nothing to do with blonde wigs and swords,” he says.

Few sets are as dynamic as this one. game of Thrones won Emmys for its immense fight scenes. Season 6’s ‘Battle of the Bastards’ (which was directed by HotD director Miguel Sapochnik) is as edge-of-your-seat-viewing as it gets.

Though, rehearsing such battles to the point of perfection can be risky.

French actor Fabien Frankel, who plays Sir Christen Cole in the prequel, reveals he almost damaged the money-maker – Smith’s pin-up face.

“I hit Matt in the face in our first rehearsal,” Frankel says. “My sword cut him in the head. We didn’t even really know each other.

Smith interjects, “It was your shield (which) hit my sword.”

While they laugh about it now, Frankel genuinely feared he was “going to get fired.”

“It was like, you know, you don’t want to insult Matt Smith,” he says.

Smith was one of the millions of diehard thrones fans, having watched the entirety of its eight season run.

He says he feels privileged to be welcomed into the world of Westeros for a new era, but of course, that sort of legacy warrants high stakes.

“But ultimately, it’s a good pressure,” Smith says.

“That had its own cultural footprint. And its success will never be repeated.

“There’s a huge fan base there. They love it. And we’re going to try and deliver something that’s original and entertaining and move the story forward, even though we’re moving the story backwards.”

House of the Dragon premieres express from the US on Binge and Foxtel August 22

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Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams debuts edgy buzzcut | photo

Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams has debuted her most dramatic hair transformation yet.

The 25-year-old UK actress, who shot to fame playing Arya Stark on the HBO fantasy series in 2011, uploaded a holiday snap showing off her edgy new buzzcut.

“Washing head w facewash,” she captioned photos of the new look on Instagram, adding the hashtag #3in1girlie.

British model Iris Law, 21, who recently debuted her own shaved head, gave Williams her stamp of approval in the comments, to which Williams replied, “U the blueprint.”

Tons of other friends and fans showed love for the bold look as well, with one person writing, “You have a lovely shaped bonce!”

Others commented, “Oh she cute,” “Queeeeeeen! I wasn’t ready” and “Wow, the buzz cut looks amazing on you.”

While this may be one of Williams’ most dramatic changes yet, she’s no stranger to pushing boundaries.

Earlier this year, the former child star bleached her hair and eyebrows a platinum hue for her role in the forthcoming limited series about the Sex Pistols.

And shortly after ending her eight-season run as Arya in 2019, Williams departed from her character by dyeing her brown hair a bright bubblegum pink.

“I love it, it’s a whole new me,” she said at the time.

Her big chop may be a nod to boyfriend Reuben Selby, who has a similarly cropped cut. The couple of three years often match their looks, having sported the same makeup and similar outfits in the front rows of Paris Fashion Week in 2019.

It comes as the Thrones spin-off,House of the Dragon, is just weeks away from premiering.

The prequel series, set 200 years before the events of GoTwill focus on the rise and fall of the Targaryen family.

It premieres express from the US on Binge and Foxtel on August 22.

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