Why Mysaria From House Of The Dragon Looks So Familiar

In HBO's "Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon," Matt Smith of "Doctor Who" fame portrays Daemon Targaryen, the morally questionable older brother to protagonist-of-sorts Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock/Emma D'Arcy). Smith once discussed Daemon's relationship with Mysaria, a dancer and a spy, as a key indicator of his character's unique status. According to Smith, Daemon's willingness to work closely with a commoner like Mysaria despite his royal blood is indicative of an ability to transcend social strata many of his cohorts do not possess.

Though Mysaria isn't onscreen for much of "House of the Dragon" Season 1, her procurement and delivery of a key piece of intelligence about Rhaenyra is among some of the most important dominoes to fall in the development of the conflict at the show's core. In fact, by its end, Mysaria's fate is among some of the biggest questions left unanswered by "House of the Dragon" Season 1.

If Mysaria looks familiar, it's likely due to one of actor Sonoya Mizuno's prior roles from a number of notable works of film and TV released over the course of the decade-or-so prior to her joining the "Game of Thrones" universe.

Mysaria actor Sonoya Mizuno's second ever film role was in former novelist Alex Garland's directorial debut "Ex Machina." In "Ex Machina," Domhnall Gleeson portrays Caleb Smith, a programmer who stays at the home of the CEO of the company he works for, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Nathan introduces Caleb to a lifelike android he built named Ava (Alicia Vikander). Also working for Nathan is a silent assistant named Kyoko, portrayed by Mizuno. As it turns out, Kyoko isn't quite the demure helper that she seems to be upon the movie's opening.

Garland apparently enjoyed working with Mizuno on "Ex Machina" — she subsequently appeared in "Annihilation" and her voice was featured in "Men," which were Garland's next two features as director. Mizuno is also credited in Garland's upcoming film "Civil War," suggesting the two may well maintain their creative partnership for the foreseeable future.

As detailed in an L.A. Times profile, Sonoya Mizuno kicked off her performing arts career not as an actor but as a ballerina. Although she was plenty successful at ballet, she ultimately decided to quit dancing and dedicate herself to Hollywood full time instead.

Given her background, then, it's fitting that one of her first roles after "Ex Machina" — and after a dance movie titled "High Strung," released the same year — was in Damien Chazelle's nearly Best Picture winning musical drama "La La Land." Though her overall time on screen is relatively brief, those who have seen the film will likely remember Mizuno's character Caitlin as one of protagonist Mia (Emma Stone)'s roommates, who back her during the musical sequence for the original song "Someone in the Crowd" early on in its story.

As they perform the song, Mia is preparing for a big Hollywood party, and her roommates are helping her get ready while assuring her that the party could help further her Hollywood career. Each of Mia's roommates wears a different-colored dress during this sequence, with Mizuno's Caitlin rocking the color yellow as she helps prepare Mia for her big night out.

Two years after "La La Land," Sonoya Mizuno showed up as one of the many memorable characters to factor into the story of Jon M. Chu's acclaimed romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians."

Constance Wu and Henry Golding star in "Crazy Rich Asians" as Rachel and Nick, a young couple who visit Singapore for the wedding of Nick's childhood friend Colin (Chris Pang). However, Colin's wedding soon takes a backseat to Rachel's first time meeting Nick's family. Rachel gradually learns that Nick's parents are both extraordinarily wealthy, and perhaps not her biggest fan, hence plenty of ensuing drama regarding her relationship with Nick's immediate family members.

Nevertheless, Nick and Rachel spend time with Colin and end up attending his wedding as intended. Colin's fiancee Araminta, who first meets up with Rachel and Nick shortly after their arrival in Singapore, is played by Sonoya Mizuno. Naturally, Araminta's character arc culminates with her walking down the aisle to marry Colin at their extravagant wedding ceremony midway through the film.

Amidst appearing in each of his feature films, Sonoya Mizuno's working relationship with director Alex Garland ended up landing her the starring role in his acclaimed Hulu sci-fi series "Devs."

Nick Offerman stars opposite Mizuno in "Devs" as Forest, the faux-messianic CEO of a quasi-supernatural tech giant called Amaya. Mizuno plays a woman named Lily, who lives in San Francisco with her partner Sergei (Karl Glusman). Both Lily and Sergei work at Amaya, and in fact, Sergei is the protagonist of "Devs" Episode 1. However, by the episode's end, shortly after a receiving promotion to a position directly under Forest on a top secret development team, Sergei ends up dead, spurring Lily to begin investigating the company's inner workings.

"Devs" is a limited series that wraps up in the finale of its first and only season, meaning that Mizuno's lead role likewise ended upon the show's conclusion in April 2020.