Milly Alcock<\/a>, the breakout star of House of the Dragon<\/em><\/a>, has revealed the unconventional way she discovered she had landed the coveted role of Supergirl<\/a>, following a vision from DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn<\/a>. The 26-year-old Australian actor, who captivated audiences as the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen<\/a>, was chosen for her “punk rock” energy, a quality Gunn specifically sought for the iconic superhero.<\/p>\n DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran recounted Gunn\u2019s initial vision for the character, inspired directly by Alcock\u2019s performance. “He goes, \u2018you know the young girl from House of the Dragon<\/em>? The young queen or princess? That\u2019s how I picture it, like a young punk rock girl who is just totally badass and tough,\u2019” Safran told The Associated Press<\/em>. “I was like, yeah, that sounds fantastic, and we haven\u2019t seen that before.”<\/p>\n Alcock, who had been working in her native Australia since her teenage years, found her world rapidly expanding. After submitting a self-tape for the secretive Supergirl project, she was summoned for her first-ever screen test. A 24-hour flight from Sydney to Atlanta later, she gave it her all. “I kind of had a feeling, I remember I like got back to my hotel room and I like sat down and I was like, \u2018Oh, this is gonna, something\u2019s gonna happen,\u2019” Alcock said. “I just had like an intuition that like, this is going to be a very exciting challenge if it goes in my favour.”<\/p>\n Ten days later, the news arrived not via a phone call, but a text message from Gunn containing an article from the trade publication Deadline<\/em>: “Supergirl\u2019: New Woman Of Steel Is \u2018House Of The Dragon\u2019s\u2019 Milly Alcock.” Her immediate reaction? “This is crazy, what have I done?” Just days after, she was back on that 24-hour flight to film her cameo in the upcoming Superman<\/em><\/a> film.<\/p>\n Milly Alcock with \u2018Krypto\u2019 in \u2018Supergirl\u2019 (AP)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Since then, things have not slowed down. Filming the Supergirl<\/em> movie, set for release on 26 June, has been a marathon of stunts, action, and emotion, with the promotional tour proving equally relentless. Speaking to the AP earlier this month, Alcock had just arrived in Las Vegas from Kyoto, where she was filming another project, and, on just two hours of sleep, had to rally to hype Supergirl<\/em> in front of thousands of cinema owners.<\/p>\n Safran believes the film offers a fresh perspective. “It\u2019s a really original and unique take on a superhero movie,” he said. “I think it\u2019s just a great movie for audiences. It\u2019s not just for superhero fans.”<\/p>\n Despite her character being less widely known than her famous cousin, the response to Alcock\u2019s brief appearance in Superman<\/em> was overwhelmingly positive. “She\u2019s in the Superman<\/em> movie for, you know, 12 seconds, yet one of the things audiences wanted to see … more of was her,” Safran noted. “And Millie in real life, she\u2019s just that girl \u2026 she is authentically a badass.”<\/p>\n Part of Supergirl\u2019s intrigue lies in her stark contrast to the straight-laced Superman. Unlike her cousin, who was raised by loving parents on Earth, Kara witnessed the destruction of her home planet and the loss of everyone she knew, forcing her to fend for herself. Directed by Craig Gillespie<\/a>, known for his films about complex young women like I, Tonya<\/em> and Cruella<\/em><\/a>, the film follows a jaded Kara on an intergalactic odyssey.<\/p>\n Alcock found an unexpected connection with her character. “Kara surprisingly reminded me a lot of myself, which I never thought I would get from playing like a superhero, from playing someone who isn\u2019t human. There\u2019s a lot humility in her and that kind of made me fall in love with her immediately,” Alcock explained. “Sometimes you can get swept up in what other people expect, and then you kind of lose your intrinsic you-ness. And that\u2019s why people hire you in the first place, because of what you bring to something just innately being who you are.”<\/p>\n Milly Alcock (2026 Invision)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Alcock, who didn\u2019t grow up a big film fan, found acting to be a lifeline and an outlet for communicating feelings she struggled with in real life. Now living in London with a close-knit group of non-actor friends, she is adjusting to the intense visibility that comes with her new role.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s been kind of disorientating,” she admitted. “I do this job because it gives me the ability to disappear. So then to like suddenly be so visible and so exposed is a very vulnerable experience. I\u2019m just trying to learn how to deal with that relationship. But I mean, it\u2019s exciting. Of course it\u2019s exciting. But like anything exciting, it\u2019s also terrifying.”<\/p>\n<\/div>