Milly Alcock

In Supergirl (2026), Milly Alcock takes a punch as though somebody has added another chore to her day. Her Kara is hungover, slouching and in no hurry to make herself agreeable. Alcock makes the exhaustion visible in the way she stands; there is little need for the dialogue to explain it. It is a persuasive physical performance in a film we found largely dull. The flat stare tells us more about her than much of the script manages.

The move into fantasy followed her Australian television work, including Meg Adams in the road comedy-drama Upright (2019). Playing young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon (2022) brought international recognition. Her subsequent American work includes Sirens (2025) and Supergirl. Across the two performances we have reviewed, the useful connection is her willingness to be awkward company, without immediately trying to win us over.

In Sirens, her Simone DeWitt is difficult enough to stop the sisters’ quarrel becoming a simple case of deciding who is right. With Meghann Fahy, Alcock makes the irritation feel old: these are people who know too much about each other to be persuaded by a new account of themselves. Julianne Moore makes Michaela Kell’s wealthy circle sufficiently tempting to explain Simone’s attraction to it. Fahy is our chief pleasure in this uneven black comedy. Alcock’s contribution is to make sympathy harder to settle, which gives their scenes something worth following.

Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl offers fewer chances for that sort of exchange. We warmed to Alcock in the quiet scenes with Eve Ridley: Kara remains sour, and Ridley is watchful rather than cute. Anna B. Sheppard and Michael Mooney dress Kara in worn layers that suit Alcock’s slouch better than Ana Nogueira’s flat dialogue suits her delivery. The action is too dark to follow, and there are too few of those quieter exchanges. Start with Sirens; save Supergirl for an evening when Alcock herself is enough of a reason.