Gayle Rankin: 5 Things To Know About The Actress Playing Alys Rivers In ‘House Of The Dragon’

Avery Thompson

April 24, 2023 1:30PM EDT

Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock

‘House of the Dragon’ has found its Alys Rivers. Here’s what you need to know about the actress playing this key season 2 character.

Gayle will play Alys Rivers in House of the Dragon.
Gayle previously starred in the Netflix series GLOW.
Gayle is Scottish.

Gayle Rankin has been cast in one of House of the Dragon’s most important new characters. The actress has joined the cast of season 2 as Alys Rivers. The second season is currently filming now.

So, who is Gayle Rankin? The 33-year-old is an alum of the beloved Netflix series GLOW and more. HollywoodLife has 5 key things to know about Gayle.

Gayle Rankin at the ‘Kindred’ premiere. (Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock)

1. Gayle will play Alys Rivers.

HBO announced on April 24, 2023, that Gayle would be playing Alys Rivers in House of the Dragon season 2. Alys is a character from George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. She is supposedly a bastard child of Lord Lyonel Strong. Alys, believed by many to be a witch, becomes intimately involved with Prince Aemond Targaryen. Aemond is played by Ewan Mitchell.

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2. Gayle is from Scotland.

Gayle grew up outside of Glasgow, Scotland. “I grew up definitely in what you would call the countryside,” she told Interview. Gayle eventually attended The Juilliard School in New York City.

3. Gayle rose to fame in GLOW.

The actress starred as Sheila the She-Wolf in GLOW during the show’s run. She also notably played Emily Dodson in Perry Mason season 1 and Queen Victoria in The Greatest Showman. Gayle was most recently seen in the FX series Kindred.

Gayle Rankin as Sheila the She-Wolf in ‘GLOW.’ (Netflix/Everett Collection)

4. Gayle is also a stage actress.

Gayle made her stage debut in the 2012 production of Tribes. She played Fraulein Kost in Studio 54’s 2014 production of Cabaret. In 2017, she starred as Ophelia in Hamlet alongside Oscar Isaac and Keegan-Michael Key.

5. Gayle didn’t speak for 3 years.

Gayle opened up about being a “quiet child” in her early years. “I didn’t speak for like three years of my life,” she told Interview. “I was a very quiet child, which I think translates into a big part of me, of who I am now too. I was just talking to someone else about this the other day. I’m an extroverted introvert.”