Olivia Cooke describes reading House of the Dragon reviews as ‘self-flagellating’

Olivia Cooke has opened up about the media attention from House of the Dragon, explaining that reading reviews of the show on social media felt like “self-flagellating”.

The 28-year-old actor said in a new interview: “It’s mad because what they’re talking about is this fantasy version of me that doesn’t exist whatsoever.”

Cooke, who also starred in Bates Maotel, said she finds it “so odd” that people talk about actors like they know them.

“All you can do is be as authentic as possible,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.

After House of The Dragon, Cooke found there was “an immediate visibility” that she had never experienced before walking down the street.

“I’m so naive,” she said, “but I think I was purposely because I didn’t want to confront this anxiety.”

Cooke described Game of Thrones fans as “noisy” and said that “having to block your ears and eyes from that has been a challenge”.

“It’s like the school playground – you want to know what everyone is saying about you and what’s been said.”

Prior to House of The Dragon, Cooke starred in Me and Earl and The Dying Girl, Ready Player One, Vanity Fair, Sound of Metal, and Pixie.

After finding out she had gotten the part of Alicent Hightower, Cooke “felt amazing”. However, she began to worry “‘is my life about to change in a really scary way? And: what have I done?’”.

In October, Cooke told The Guardian she had never seen an episode of Game of Thrones before landing the role in the prequel.

She explained that she tends to “resist things that are popular”.

“But to my own detriment,” she said, “because it’s really f***ing good.”