Don't dare to cross Olivia Cooke. The "House of the Dragon" star recently reminisced about a moment on the HBO hit when she delivered such a powerful slap to a co-star that it brought him to tears.
The 31-year-old actress, who is currently making waves with her role in the Prime Video thriller "The Girlfriend," shared the anecdote with the British newspaper The i Paper. The scene in question involved Cooke, portraying the regal Alicent Hightower, and her on-screen son, the sniveling King Aegon Targaryen, played by Tom Glynn-Carney. The script called for Alicent to slap Aegon, and Glynn-Carney, eager for authenticity, encouraged Cooke to "do it for real." After getting the green light from the stunt coordinator, Cooke didn't hold back.
"I walloped him!" she exclaimed, with a hint of both amusement and remorse. "I didn't realize my own strength! That slap echoed far and wide! It made him cry! I mean, that was the exact reaction he wanted for the cameras. But I felt terrible. It was awful. I've always felt sick and on the verge of tears after doing any stunt work like that."
On a more serious note, Cooke also shed light on the ongoing challenges women face in Hollywood, particularly when filming intimate scenes. Despite progress in the industry, she noted that actors, especially those new to the scene, often find themselves in "really precarious and vulnerable situations." She highlighted the difficulty for inexperienced actors who "don't have the vocabulary to express what they're uncomfortable with" and pointed out that "women often get labeled 'difficult' or 'a bitch' for voicing their concerns."
Cooke emphasized the importance of intimacy coordinators, a role that gained widespread recognition in the TV industry through HBO's "Game of Thrones." These professionals, she said, "sense hesitation and become your voice," advocating for the actor's comfort and boundaries.
"Depicting intimacy and passion is essential for reflecting the human experience," Cooke added. "But it should be achieved on screen without feeling like 'a chunk of yourself has been taken.'"
Fans can expect the third season of "House of the Dragon" to hit screens sometime next year, likely in the summer. In the meantime, Cooke can be seen in "The Girlfriend," a six-episode psychological thriller starring Robin Wright as a mother whose life unravels when her son (Laurie Davidson) brings home a manipulative new girlfriend (Cooke). The series premieres Wednesday on Amazon's Prime Video.
