‘House of the Dragon’: Olivia Cooke is the power behind the throne

Jacob Sarkisian
·5 min read
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“House of the Dragon” looks set to, uh, cook up a storm at this year’s Emmys including bids for many of the cast. Among those most deserving of consideration is Olivia Cooke, who plays the older version of Queen Alicent Hightower in the HBO epic.

Set a century before “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Dragon” depicts the blossoming conflict between several major Westeros families after Paddy Considine‘s King Viserys names his daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock/Emma D’Arcy) as his heir. This leads to various parties vying for the Iron Throne in the ongoing Targaryen war of succession. Alicent Hightower marries King Viserys and births a son, Aegon Targaryen (Ty Tennant/Tom Glynn-Carney), who later challenges for the throne.

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As such, Cooke is a major player in “House of the Dragon” and appears in the last half of season one, starting with episode six’s “The Princess and the Queen.” She took over the role from Emily Carey, who played the younger version of Alicent in episodes one to five. Cooke immediately brings a gravitas and presence to her role as Alicent, who, in the decade time-jump between episodes five and six, matures and grows into a savvy, cunning political player after being something of a meek passenger in the years prior.

Cooke brings a Shakespearean authority to the role and commands our attention, although she also flecks the role with a hint of vulnerability, especially in her scenes with Matthew Needham‘s lecherous Larys Strong. It is Cooke’s sparring scenes with D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra, Alicent’s former best friend and now rival, that are her best moments. Both actresses crackle on screen, and critics were quick to praise Cooke.

Lauren Morgan (EW) explained that “Olivia Cooke’s take on Queen Alicent Hightower has helped me see the character in an entirely new way… Cooke brings even more nuance to Alicent.” She continued: “Cooke has made Alicent feel much more like a conflicted, flesh-and-blood woman than the plot device she occasionally felt like on the page.” She summarised: “I hope Emmy voters don’t forget Cooke’s complex portrait of an often unlikable woman.”

Alec Bojalad (Den of Geek) observed that it’s “apparent that the new actors,” including Cooke, are “up to the task of replacing their youthful counterparts.” He wrote: “It goes without saying but D’Arcy, Cooke, and… John Macmillan are immediately superb in their roles.” In particular, he commented: “Olivia Cooke really excels in this episode [six] in playing a woman who is constantly living out Will Ferrell’s ‘I feel like I’m taking crazy pills’ line delivery from ‘Zoolander.'”

And Molly Edwards (Games Radar) stated: “Cooke plays an older, wiser, and tougher Alicent, one without the wounded betrayal of Emily Carey’s version, while D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra is steelier and harsher than Milly Alcock’s free-spirited young princess. Both actors prove themselves as worthy of their roles, fully owning their evolved characters from the jump and putting to rest any fears that they couldn’t stack up to Alcock and Carey.”

The critics pick up on the fact that Cooke manages to equal, if not surpass, the excellent standards set by Carey, who fleshed out the character in the first half of the series. Fans had become used to Carey, so it was no mean feat for Cooke to swoop in and at once seamlessly take over the same character and also make the role her own. It’s a mature performance beyond Cooke’s years and is deserving of Emmy attention.

Currently she sits outside of our predicted eight Best Supporting Drama Actress nominees: Carol Burnett (“Better Call Saul”), Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus”), J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”), Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”), Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown”), Aubrey Plaza (“The White Lotus”), Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul,”) and, in pole position, the iconic Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”). Lesley Manville (“The Crown”) is also slightly ahead of Cooke, while Cooke is ahead of co-star Alcock.

However, Cooke could benefit from the same Emmys track record that Alcock could — both actresses are break-out stars looking for their first-ever Emmy bids in the debut seasons of a huge TV show.

The TV academy voters have often nominated performers in this exact pattern. Last year, HoYeon Jung earned a bid for Netflix’s mammoth “Squid Game” (losing to Julia Garner, “Ozark”) while in 2017, Millie Bobby Brown scored a nomination for another massive Netflix hit in “Stranger Things” (losing to Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”).

Plus, way back in 2000, Allison Janney won an Emmy for “The West Wing.” All of these performers’ nominations were their first-ever Emmy bids and they came for each of their respective show’s first seasons. So, there is absolutely credentials there for Cooke to be nominated — she could emulate this Emmys pattern and break into our predicted eight. Watch this space.

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