Bethany Antonia

stars in

HBO series

House of the Dragon 

Photography David Reiss

Styling Yasmin Sabri 

Words by Deborah Ferguson

From commanding the skies as Baela Targaryen in HBO’s House of the Dragon to earning rave reviews in London’s hit West End production of Hadestown, Bethany Antonia continues to prove herself as one of Britain’s most exciting rising talents. As a new season unfolds, she speaks with ContentMode Magazine about Baela’s emotional evolution, finding strength through loyalty, and balancing the worlds of epic fantasy and live theatre.

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House of the Dragon has become one of the defining television series of this generation. As you stepped back into Baela’s world for this new season, what excited you most about where her journey was heading?

 

I was really excited to get to play into her different shades. She’s really forced to question everything this season. Everything about who she thought she was and what lay ahead for her future is thrown up in the air, which gave me a really nice opportunity to tap into different parts of her demeanour and her emotions.

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Baela possesses a quiet strength that often feels different from many of the characters around her. What is it about her that you admire most, and what do you think audiences may discover about her this season that they haven’t seen before?

 

I admire her unwavering loyalty and her commitment to honour the people she loves most. I think audiences will feel a new sense of maturity to her this season. She has had to grow up incredibly fast, and I think we really get the opportunity to feel that this season more thanever. We also get to see her in different environments and outside of the Painted Table, which offers a real contrast to the usual dynamics of her in her place at court.

Skirt: EUDON CHOI Top: JENNIFER MILLEDER Shoes: CHLOÉ  Earrings: MAISON LUMIÈRE

Bandeau Top & Skirt: APAR Jacket: ELIE SAAB Shoes: MALONE SOULIERS Tights: FALKE Gloves: ATSUKO KUDO Earrings: DINOSAUR DESIGNS

Fans are endlessly fascinated by the dragons, battles, and spectacle of Westeros, but at its heart the series is really about family, loyalty, and identity. Which relationship was most interesting for you to explore this season, and why?

 

Although we saw her saying at the end of last season that she was “Blood and Fire,” not “Salt and Sea,” we actually get to see her getting reacquainted with her Velaryon side of the family this season. That was so exciting for me, getting to work with Steve, Abu, and Clinton. We haven’t had any scenes together before, really, and their characters bring out a really different side of Baela that was lovely to play with.

Alongside your work on screen, you’ve also been captivating audiences on London’s West End stage. How does stepping into a theatrical role compare with inhabiting someone like Baela, and what does live performance give you that television simply can’t?

 

Yes! Working on Hadestown has been a real dream come true. Eurydice and Baela actually have quite a lot in common. They’re both incredibly stubborn and strong-willed, and they both try to take matters into their own hands. I think HOTD is actually as theatrical as you can find in the telly world. The thing I love most about working in theatre is how different the show can feel every night. We are four months into our run, and I’m still discovering things about Eurydice every night. I’m watching my castmates evolve night by night, and we’re living and breathing these characters so much that we can all collectively feel when someone has made a new discovery that’s led to a new choice, and that energy is totally infectious. I think that’s what’s hard to replicate when you’re working in television.

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Moving between the intimacy of theatre and the scale of a global television phenomenon requires incredible versatility. Have those two worlds influenced one another in unexpected ways as an actress?

 

It doesn’t get much more theatrical than us and our dragon-riding, so I think the acting choices are actually much more similar than you’d assume. I have pulled so many different things from each of those roles and used them interchangeably. It’s been so wonderful getting to work on projects in this way back to back. The dragon-riding sequences require a really unique level of bodily awareness and grounding into your body that’sabsolutely crucial when you’re doing a musical. And the vocal demands of screaming all the High Valyrian battle cries and communing with our dragons stood me in great stead to start belting into the underworld.

When audiences reach the end of this season, what do you hope they’re talking about when it comes to Baela and her story?

 

We’ve watched her go through so much over the past three seasons. She’s lost so many of the people she cared for deeply, and everything she thought she knew about family has been challenged. I hope that the audience is hopeful about what’s to come for her and that they’re enjoying seeing a different side to her personality.

Skirt: EUDON CHOI Top: JENNIFER MILLEDER Shoes: CHLOÉ  Earrings: MAISON LUMIÈRE

Photography 

David Reiss

 
Creative Director & Interview 
 
 
Makeup 
 
Hair
Sandra Hahnel using Only Curls @CarenAgency
 
Web Layout
 
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