Olivia Cooke: Rising Star Defies Odds in Hollywood

She grew up in a small town in Oldham, Manchester with dreams she hoped one day would come a reality.

And Olivia Cooke has defied all working-class odds, bagging her spot in 's highly-acclaimed  series as Queen Alicent Hightower.

Olivia took over from Emily Carey in 2022 to accommodate the 10-year time jump in the story.

As the daughter of a policeman and a sales rep, Olivia never had any family connections to give her a leg up in the industry.

She at times often felt like an outsider because she didn't come from a privileged background and there 'aren't a lot of working-class actors'.

Olivia, 32, earned her acting stripes at a local drama group in Oldham before relocating to London as a teenager and applied for a spot in Rada.

She was told by her former agency at the time she'd be a 'small fish in a massive pond' as a Northern actress in London.

Yet, despite the doubt and being rejected by Rada, Olivia pursued her dreams and ventured to the city where she made her television debut in 's Blackout in 2012.

It wasn't long before she picked up more acting gigs, venturing across the pond to make her American TV breakthrough in Bates Motel.

She relocated to New York aged 21, hopping between Vancouver and Los Angeles for multiple series for the next seven years. 

After a streak of smaller roles in several films, Olivia hit big time when she was .

Thanks to Spielberg and Olivia's determination, she cemented her status several years later in the Oscar-winning drama Sound Of Metal in 2019.

Just last year, Olivia starred as Cherry Laine in Amazon Prime's popular thriller The Girlfriend.  

Although Olivia felt 'really lonely' in her twenties due to being so career-focused, she credits her hard work for making her dreams come true. 

And now - she continues her biggest role yet while feeling settled living back in London in a wood-paneled house.

Olivia said House Of Dragon's has brought her a level of exposure that she was never prepared for.

'The size of that show in terms of the eyes on it is incomprehensible', she told the Observer. 'We're like a cover band that has got really popular, it's like Noasis charting.'

Olivia often wonders whether she would have had her successful career if she had stayed in Manchester.

'I’m only guessing, and with the benefit of hindsight, but I wonder, if I’d stayed here as a working class northern actress, whether I would have had this career path', she told Radio Times.   

'In America, my accent’s not a thing, I’m just British – "Where’s Manchester? In London?" Here working-class men can rise up the ranks and do all these different accents, and I just don’t think they assume women can. But it’s definitely changing.'

House Of The Dragon made a grand return toafter captivating fans with its first two offerings.  

But as anticipation built for the third series drama began to engulf the show – which is a prequel to smash-hit . 

Some fans vowed to boycott upcoming episodes, while critics who had a preview of the third season revealed the fantasy show made them 'physically sick'. 

The show features major cast members including , Emma D'Arcy, Olivia, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans and . 

The series first hit screens in 2022 and has returned for an eight-episode third season. Further episodes air weekly on HBO Max until the finale on August 10.

But one reviewer last week said there was one scene in one of the first four episodes that 'sickened her' and made the whole audience 'gasp in unison'.

Reviewer Sabrina Barr penned in Metro: 'House Of The Dragon has never been afraid to push the boundaries – the opening episode of season one included a tragic birth scene that's truly one of the most horrifying sequences I've ever watched on TV. 

'In season two, Daemon Targaryen [Matt Smith] had sex with his own mother in a bizarre Harrenhal-induced dream sequence [Harrenhal is an infamous castle in Westeros]. But this latest vomit-inducing moment might take the biscuit.'

Many had already said they would boycott the upcoming season after being left severely disappointed by the ending of series two in August 2024. 

The 70-minute finale – entitled The Queen Who Ever Was – didn't provide the spectacle that many fans had come to expect from season finales.

While it had its share of surprising moments – including a bold gambit by Queen Dowager Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and a shockingly unclaimed Iron Throne – many were left disappointed.

'WHERE IS THE REST OF THE EPISODE????' tweeted @ashx_s0ul along with a picture of a cat captioned, 'Sobbing in Valyrian'.

The first season ended with the shocking deal of Rhaenyra Targaryen's () son Lucerys Velaryon at the hands of Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), which set the stage for the 'war' to come.

Still fans didn't get much in terms of actual battle action in season two, which is a primary reason why many felt underwhelmed.

And now, as a result, some fans have revealed their plans to boycott the new series. 

Also in the cast are Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall and Matthew Needham.

New cast members include Annie Shapiro, Tom Cullen, Tommy Flanagan, Dan Fogler, Joplin Sibtain, Barry Sloane and James Norton.

Previously, fans shared their excitement as a very violent season three trailer dropped – with warring soldiers butchered and burned alive.

Writing in the comments section, one fan penned: 'Now we are talking.'

Another added: 'This season is dark and full of terrors.' 

A third shared: 'My boy, Daemon finally getting the Action he deserves!!'

A fourth chimed in: 'This series is so dark, so tragic and epic...pure gold.'

While a fifth agreed: 'This looks better than season 2. Let's hope it delivers.'

It's not the first controversy the show has been caught up in.

In 2022 an executive on the show had to clarify comments made that the show would 'depict sexual violence'. 

'I'd like to clarify that we do not depict sexual violence in the show,' writer and executive producer Sara Hess told Vanity Fair at the time. 'We handle one instance off-screen, and instead show the aftermath and impact on the victim and the mother of the perpetrator.

'I think what our show does, and what I'm proud of, is that we choose to focus on the violence against women that is inherent in a patriarchal system,' she said in a statement to the publication.

'There are many "historical" or history-based shows that romanticise powerful men in sexual/marriage relationships with women who were actually not of an age to consent, even if they were "willing,"' Sara continued. 

'We put that on-screen, and we don't shy away from the fact that our female leads in the first half of the show are coerced and manipulated into doing the will of adult men.

'This is done not necessarily by those we would define as rapists or abusers, but often by generally well-meaning men who are unable to see that what they are doing is traumatic and oppressive, because the system that they all live in normalizes it. It's less obvious than rape but just as insidious, though in a different way.'

Season three of House Of The Dragon airs weekly at 9PM ET/ 6PM PT on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max. In the UK, the episodes air on Mondays at 2AM. You can stream it on Sky Atlantic, HBO Max, or NOW TV.