‘House of the Dragon’ Star Olivia Cooke Was Told to Play Her Character Like a Trump Supporter
Olivia Cooke couldn’t stomach even pretending to be a Trump supporter.

The “House of the Dragon” actress, who took over the role of Alicent Hightower from Emily Carey due to a series time jump, revealed that co-showrunners Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal advised her to find inspiration from the disgraced former president. The series creators told Cooke to view the character Queen Alicent like a “woman for Trump.”

“I just didn’t want to give them any more mental real estate than they already had,” Cooke told Entertainment Weekly about calling back to the Trump family. “So I tried to find a different route into her, but I could see what they were saying with this complete indoctrination and denial of her own autonomy and rights. I just couldn’t be asked to go down that road.”

Cooke noted that Alicent has been “bittered and twisted over time” due to her prescribed gender role.

“Alicent has been completely bred to breed, and to breed powerful men. That’s her only function in this life,” Cooke said. “She can tell herself that she’s going to sway and nurture and persuade in a very womanly, feminine way, but it’s all [bleep] bullshit. Unless you’re fighting the men, you’ll never be heard. It’s learning to live within this straightjacket of oppression. How do I move inch by inch every single day to loosen the straps?”

RELATED
'The Vow, Part Two' Trailer: NXIVM Founder Keith Raniere Goes on Trial
'House of the Dragon' Intimacy Coordinator: We're Sensitive to 'Thrones' Bad Rap for 'Gratuitous' Sex
She added that Alicent has to “walk this tightrope for her whole entire life,” and that Cooke found a “humanitarian hook” for the character.

“You’re seeing her struggle with her womanhood and the power that she does have to play that is completely separate from her husband or her father or even her children. And also just moralistically where she stands when she isn’t listening to her father anymore,” Cooke said. “I think what we see in her evolution is this complete existential crisis.”

The “Thoroughbreds” actress continued, “She does some [bleep] despicable stuff. But then you’ve got to think, she’s trying to protect her son. She’s trying to uphold the patriarchy. She’s trying to uphold the legitimacy of the crown. All these things that she feels are so much bigger than she is. I think that’s why when she can’t control that, she turns to faith more as some sort of tangible element of control, because she doesn’t have any in her life whatsoever.”

Cooke concluded, “She’s got all these men around her that just want a piece of her, or want to use her in a specific way, but no one actually has her best interest. It’s just a really lonely existence.”
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

They live in a fantasy world, they wouldn't last 2 days in the real world.

Nothing but Liberal Trash and weirdos living in Hollywood got no use for the celebrities living there.

Ignorance and bigotry seem to go so well together.

...our views are different and you know what we both have rights to our opinions...

We do both have rights to our opinions. Mine is that ignorance and bigotry go well together. Yours (from thousands of miles away) is that "Nothing but Liberal trash and weirdos live in Hollywood" ; a statement sadly based on bigotry and ignorance.

I actually have been to Hollywood many times, and have conservative friends who happen to live there. They are neither weirdos nor liberals nor trash. You can hang onto your hatred and bigotry if you must. But you can learn and therefore reduce your ignorance by some small measure.

We do both have rights to our opinions. Mine is that ignorance and bigotry go well together. Yours (from thousands of miles away) is that "Nothing but Liberal trash and weirdos live in Hollywood" ; a statement sadly based on bigotry and ignorance.

I actually have been to Hollywood many times, and have conservative friends who happen to live there. They are neither weirdos nor liberals nor trash. You can hang onto your hatred and bigotry if you must. But you can learn and therefore reduce your ignorance by some small measure.

Here I thought you were agreeing with Riverc!
The words of this actress are the height of ignorance and self loathing. And apparently everyone on the set agrees with her mindset. The creators (notice plural) are of that mindset and apparently everyone else on the set agreed. Or at least they were too big of [bleep] to protest.

Irredeemable. I hope Hollywood gets nuked along with DC.

...What’s the rate of homosexuality per capita in Hollywood? Is it ok to say I find that practice abhorrent, or does that make me an ignorant bigot? Lol

No. You were probably an ignorant bigot before saying that. (I too find the practice abhorrent)

Seriously, do you need another reason to hate people who live in Hollywood? Or California in general?

Honestly I don't know the rate of homosexuality, per capita, in Hollywood. Nor do I care if it is higher or lower than any other city/town in the state or country. An old friend has a grown son who happens to be gay. Should I un-friend him? I've been intimate with women who were switch-hitters. Should I have myself tested?