Season 3 of HBO’s House of the Dragon debuts tomorrow night. The Game of Thrones prequel is earning rave reviews. Ahead of the premiere, we sat down with one of the show stars. Olivia Cooke plays Alicent Hightower, a queen, a mother, and one side of the show’s central rivalry. A woman caught between power, regret, and survival. One of the two lead characters who are both cunning and conflicted.
The king has abdicated the throne. The stakes are raised in season 3 of House of the Dragon. A new line of unsullied kings as warring clans battle and scheme for control of the Iron Throne. Once you take the throne, the senseless war must end. Season 2 ended on an uneasy alliance between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. No, I do not wish to rule. I wish to live. To be free of all this endless plotting. Childhood friends whose families combined then fractured and went to war in the core power struggle of the show.
The new season tests their shaky pact almost immediately as Alicent’s plot to betray her family, walk away from the Game of Thrones begins to unravel. We must send a search party. He needs to be found immediately. Where were you, mother? You’ve not been seen in the keep in days. I feel like we’ve gotten to the point where she really knows what the game is about, but maybe she doesn’t really want to play it anymore. No, I think Alicent’s main goal is survival. She doesn’t want to play this political seat anymore. She doesn’t want to be an adviser. She doesn’t want to hold power. She just wants to get out. I would take my daughter and her child and leave it all behind.
In Westeros, few characters are simply good or evil. And Alicent may be one of the most complicated. Did you come here thinking you would be absolved? It’s how we’re able to relate to these characters so much because no one likes a hero who’s a goody goodie all the time, frankly. Yeah. And also for me, it’s so much more fun to play the sort of the shade of the character. The engine that Alicent has within her is this really unchecked, simmering anger, which I find really quite fun and cathartic to play. You’re speaking my language. Yeah, we all feel that. At the heart of that anger, she must accept that the path to victory now is one of violence.
Alicent’s treatment by the men surrounding her, her father, her sons, her lover, and her counselors. Experience is valuable, yes, but the damaged queen is a woman. I am no stranger to rule or to sitting at this council. I think Alicent wants peace, and I also think she has no other choice. And she’s come to this realization that she has been used by every single man in her life. My experience is needed here at this table. No offense was meant to you, guys. So, I think that’s why she sort of like turns to Rhaenyra and she’s like, that’s the person that knew me when I didn’t have all these things attached to me and I didn’t have all this armor and all the walls.
Cooke’s portrayal of those walls is marked by restraint. A woman in a man’s world who must conceal her panic. There’s a lot of stuff brewing under the surface. When Alicent can’t say what she feels, what are you privately playing underneath it all? God, it’s that thing of like when you’ve gone through something really, really upsetting, but you can’t show it. It’s like it’s all here. It’s like just about to come out, but you’re just trying to push it down for the 3 minutes that you have this exchange with this person. Then be my ally. I am. An ally would not repeatedly cut my legs from beneath me at that table of men.
Cooke, who never took formal acting classes, starred in a number of psychological thrillers. There’s something burning inside of me. Before landing a breakout role in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 sci-fi movie, Ready Player One. Welcome to the rebellion, Wade. But now, Olivia, to your left, please. As a star in one of television’s biggest franchises, she’s getting newfound attention. What has that been like stepping into this universe that has such an avid fan base? Yeah, it’s for the most part it’s been very wonderful and welcoming and the fans have been really wonderful and receptive like how it can spark joy and inspiration in others. That’s the best part of it.
And with one more season of House of the Dragon after this one, Cooke has a wish list for her character. I’m like, let me on a dragon. I’ve heard you say that before, which I love. If Alicent did get an hour on a dragon, what would she do? Oh, I think she’d scream the whole time. I don’t think she’d like it. This is Olivia Cooke talking like, I want to have a go. No, Alicent would not like it at all. She’d be like, get me off. Get me down. Get me down. Get me down. You know, I don’t. She doesn’t like not being in control. And famously, dragons are quite hard to control.
So, obviously, I’m team green for Alicent, but Olivia was just such a joy to talk to. She’s so thoughtful about such a story that means so much to so many people and I have to say this season is incredible. I got a sneak peek. How big a fan are you exactly? Um, very big. Very big fan. Dudes.
