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Actress Olivia Cooke will be returning to her role as Queen Alicia Hightower in the second season ofHouse of the Dragons. TheGame of Thronesspinoff sees her play the role of King Viserys I Targaryen’s wife and the mother of Aegon II and Aemond. She is constantly at loggerheads with Emma D’Arcy’s Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.
While Cooke has played many roles in films such asReady Player OneandSound of Metal, her role inHouse of the Dragonreportedly gave her a unique experience. Despite being only 30, the actress plays the role of a grandmother in the HBO show. The actress opened up about the weird realization of playing a mother to an actor who was only two years younger than her.
Olivia Cooke Remarks On Playing A Grandmother inHouse of the Dragon
While the second season of the Golden Globe-winning fantasy seriesHouse of the Dragonpremieres this week, early reviews of the show have been incredible. Many critics who got a preview of four episodes in the series have praised it to high heaven and have also compared it to the best years of its flagship showGame of Thrones.
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Apart from Emma D’Arcy’s role being a favorite again after her Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated performance in season one, the breakout star of the second season seems to be Olivia Cooke.Yahoo! Newsspecified both Cooke and D’Arcy as the ones who were carrying the show with their ‘emotional and thought-provoking takes’.
However, one aspect of Cooke’s character, Queen Alicia Hightower has weirded out the actress. She mentioned how at the age of 30, she plays a grandmother to three children and the mother to an actor who is two years younger than her. She said toThe Times,
I have really complicated feelings towards it. If they can create dragons, they could have made me look younger — and then older. Or maybe they should have cast actors in their forties? It’s happened now and I’m grateful for the role, but I’ve just turned 30 and I’m playing a grandma.
According to theA Song of Ice and Firewiki, Alicia Hightower married King Viserys I at the age of eighteen in 106AC and gave birth to Aegon II a year later in 107AC.
Olivia Cooke Feels There Is A Resistance To See Women Age On Screen
Olivia Cookerecently remarked on the strangeness of playing a grandmother on screen despite being only 30 years old. The actress mentioned how it was hilarious to call her co-star Tom Glynn-Carney who plays Aegon II as her son when he was only two years younger than her. The actress also spoke about a notable pattern in the portrayal of women.
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In an interview with The Times, Cooke spoke about the resistance from audiences or makers to show women age on screen. She spoke about how the makers could have aged her up on screen but still decided not to. She said,
There is a real reticence to see women age on screen. A real reticence. And it’s hysterical to play. Because Tom is a year younger and I’m, like, ‘Son, come here! Come on to the bosom! It is a strange dynamic that I’m very aware of. But I also don’t want to slag off the show — it’s just something Emma [D’Arcy] and I have talked about a lot.
Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond, her second son, is also only a few years younger than Olivia Cooke.
House of the DragonSeason 2 is set to premiere on June 16.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2416
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
