'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon': Who is Sian Brooke? Queen Aemma may be dead, but her shadow remains
The premiere of ‘House of the Dragon’ re-introduced viewers to the House Targaryen in a different way. A lot of new major characters have been featured in the ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel as it primarily focuses on the Targaryen dynasty. However, there’s one character that made a lot of impact throughout the episode and went out with one of the most gruesome scenes in the history of television. Yes, we are talking about Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke).
During the premiere, we found that Queen Aemma was pregnant and had gone into labor. She has suffered five miscarriages in the last two years and wasn’t able to give a son to King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine). However, the king believes that she has a son in her womb because he saw a dream in which all the Dragons roared as one when he put his son on the Iron Throne. But things take a drastic turn when maesters tell Viserys that they’ll be able to save either the mother or the child. Well, what we witnessed next was undoubtedly one of the most uncomfortable scenes in TV’s history and a lot of people believed that they needed to puke after seeing it.
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Even though fans were really terrified after seeing such a moment, they couldn’t help but applaud Brooke for such an amazing performance. If you are one of those who don’t know much about Brooke, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Sian Brooke? Meet the actress who played Benedict Cumberbatch’s sister in ‘Sherlock’
Born in 1980, Sian Brooke is a 42-year-old actress from Lichfield in Staffordshire. She began her acting career at a very young age. Interestingly, her real name is Sian Phillips and she decided to take a stage name to avoid confusion with fellow actress Sian Phillips. So, she became Sian Brooke. She joined the Lichfield Youth Theatre at the age of 11 before becoming a member of the National Youth Theatre. Brooke went on to become a part of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and did a lot of theatre productions.
In 2002, she got the chance to make her television debut with the TV series titled ‘Dinotopia’ and appeared in five episodes. As time passed by, Brooke started to prove her mantle as an actress by giving superb performances in projects such as ‘All About George’, ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’, and ‘Hotel Babylon’. Meanwhile, in 2005, she was a part of the main cast of ‘Cape Wrath’, a British thriller TV series. Although the show just ran for one season, Brooke was lauded for her performance.
After playing a lot of supporting roles on TV, Brooke stunned the world with her impeccable acting skills in the BBC series ‘Sherlock’. The blockbuster hit TV series saw her playing the character of Eurus Holmes, sister of the high-functioning sociopath and detective Sherlock Homes. The show received universal acclaim and viewers could not stop raving about Brooke’s amazing performance. While talking about her role, Brooke told Newsweek that it was “daunting” to play Eurus because people “have taken Sherlock into their hearts” and she didn’t want to fail the writers who did an exceptional job in creating this complex character.
Since then, she has been a part of several high-end titles including ‘Good Omens’, ‘Guilt’, ‘Trying’, and ‘Stephen’.
‘House of the Dragon’ is undoubtedly the biggest series that she has been a part of to date. To be a part of such a big series is one thing, but being able to make an impact with such a horrifying scene was something that she never expected. In an interview with Variety after the premiere aired, Brooke revealed that the birth scene was a "bloodbath" and looked like something straight out of a "horror movie." She said, "It was a bloodbath. Behind that belly was a whole bag full of blood and fluid. When the incision was made, they would have to time it by pumping this blood out of the belly. It looked like a horror movie."
The actress also shared that she wore two prosthetic stomachs and they were fitted just "above the waist at the top of the ribcage."
Is Sian Brooke dating anyone?
Well, she is not dating anyone because Brooke has been happily married to Bill Buckhurst, the renowned British filmmaker, for more than a decade now. The couple got married in 2010 and met each other when she was just 24. The celebrity couple have two adorable sons, Ben and Archie.
‘House of the Dragon’ returns to HBO and HBO Max with a new episode every Sunday at 9 PM EST.