Olivia Cooke on replacing Emily Carey on House of the Dragon: ‘I wish she was more rubbish’


I’ve been watching House of the Dragon and am four episodes in so far. (There are no major spoilers in this post, but there are some minor ones.) I can’t stop watching it, but I don’t care about anyone. I wouldn’t mind if any of the main characters died violent deaths. Everyone is despicable in their own way, and I only feel sorry for the hapless characters who are introduced just to die in the same episode. Two major characters are being replaced by other actors as the show jumps ten years from episode four to five. Rhaenyra, first played by Milly Alcock, gets replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Queen Alicent, Emily Carey, is now Olivia Cooke. I know Cooke from one of my favorite underrated shows, Bates Motel. I’ve also seen her in The Sound of Metal, Thoroughbreds (RIP Anton Yelchin) and Ready Player One. Honestly I had no idea that she was British until I saw her interview with Jimmy Kimmel recently. Cooke told Kimmel that she was hung over terribly her first day on set after partying with Alan Carr, and that she didn’t want to replace Emily Carey since she’s talented.

On coming in to House of the Dragon a few episodes in
Emily Carey, who’s an amazing actor, I wish she was a bit more rubbish at her job. So then I could go in and be like ‘don’t worry guys I’ve got this.’ But no everyone is going to be devastated. She did know she was going to be replaced.

On getting blackout drunk the night before her first day on set
Alan Carr… invited me to be on [his] podcast and I was very excited and my call time the next day was until 11. So I brought a bottle of wine just as a gesture and the podcast finished… he’s telling me loads of gossip but I’m like ‘more wine’. I don’t remember getting home. I remember I tipped my head down to put my hair in a pony [and] fell over. Then I woke up the next day and I had a chip in my tooth. No one knew on set until now.

[From Jimmy Kimmel Live on YouTube]

Getting blackout drunk and forgetting how you got home and chipped a tooth isn’t the best story to tell on a talk show. Cooke is an excellent actress though and I will watch her on House of the Dragon. It’s not a hate watch exactly because it’s an entertaining show and I’m not mad at the writing as much as I dislike everyone on it. I think a hate watch means the show is terrible, right? I do feel robbed somewhat of Alicent and Rhaenyra, but that’s the nature of this show. I’m sure I’ll adjust to the new actresses within a few minutes once I watch this.

As for the new actresses, Emily Carey told the Official Game of Thrones HBO Podcast that she and Milly Alcock were advised not to talk to the women playing the older versions of their characters “because it is like we’re literally playing completely different people. 10 years is a really long time, you know?” Emily is 19! Ten years is a long time at 19 but when you’re ten years older than that it feels like it goes by in a blip. I’m not a completely different person than I was even 20 years ago, everyone evolves but I’m still at my core the same.

photos credit: Cover Images, Avalon.red and HBO via Instagram

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26 Responses to “Olivia Cooke on replacing Emily Carey on House of the Dragon: ‘I wish she was more rubbish’”

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  1. Lightpurple says:

    I found the change last night jarring. I couldn’t adjust to the new Rhaenyra at all.

    • Lucy says:

      Same. I didn’t know there was going to be a time jump and was quite disoriented until I put it together.

      • Coldbloodedjellydonut says:

        My fiance watches (I can’t, GOT was too rapey and brutal for me, so I’ve opted out) and he paused the ep to go and see if he’d missed one. You’d think they’d bother to indicate a time jump for people who just watch and don’t scour the net for info.

      • MeganC says:

        I was willing to give it a try but as soon as they started talking child brides I was out. I just can’t with the sexual violence.

    • MF says:

      Yup. Same. I don’t think Emma has Millie’s same expressiveness. It felt like there was something missing in the character.

  2. Steph says:

    Cooke is a great actress bc she made me hate Alicent in one episode. I agree with you about not caring about anyone yet. I know that book and script were written with all grey characters, no obvious good or bad guy, so I’m not rooting for anyone yet. I think that’s why I hated ep 3.

    • Flowerlake says:

      I do hate Criston Cole.

      That cousin of Rhea (Daemon’s first wife), seemed like a decent person 🙂 Don’t know about any others.

      • kimmy says:

        Gosh, Criston started out as someone we (me at least) were rooting for too, but dang, that changed fast.

        I think we are supposed to “hate Alicent” and Cooke delivered. I was pretty indifferent towards her, but I love how she’s spiraled in 10 years.

        I was really into Laena and good husband-Daemon last night. I was liking Harwin. I even liked Laenor and his relationship with Rhaenyra at first. I was hoping we’d at least get a little more…

      • LightPurple says:

        I was really liking Laena; she actually seemed like a nice person. That story line was so moving.

    • mia girl says:

      I’m with you @Steph, though I suspect there might not truly be anyone for us to root for from a good v evil standpoint. I mean even the kids in this episode we’re little sh*ts, except *maybe* one. And while I didn’t read the books, the one thing we know from what GOT told us about this time in history is that not going to end well for most of them, so I guess I’m holding my emotional investment in anyone.

      So far, I most enjoy watching Matt Lewis’ Daemon and I did appreciate seeing a different side of him this episode. But in the end I’m sure he’ll still be awful. But it’s fun to watch!

    • Eleonor says:

      I watch the show and it’s the same for me!
      and the Targaryen were a bunch of a-hole.
      My only complain is that there are not enough dragon scenes.

  3. Huckle says:

    She played a version of Becky Sharpe too.

  4. C says:

    I’ve read Fire and Blood a lot so I guess the time skips are more in line with what I’m expecting. I enjoyed the younger actresses, but the older ones are perfect not only in their roles but carrying on from Milly Alcock and Emily Carey.
    I’m enjoying it a lot so far.

  5. Jessica says:

    It really did feel like Alicent was a completely different person. I can see how 10 years of court politics would change her, but it was jarring.

    • C says:

      I think they set it up well, in the previous episode, where she walked in stone-faced wearing green, and called Rhaenyra “stepdaughter” coldly. It showed the path she’d chosen.

      • Bettyrose says:

        ITA. Alicent changed in the last few minutes of episode 5 and the time jump showed the natural progression of that 10 years later. I loved that she’s not skulking around Viserys any more either. She’s the effin queen.

    • Donna says:

      Ep 6, where she debuts, yes, I am ready for her character to die! LOL! She did an amazing job! I hope now we get to see time slow down a bit because I really hated all the jumps in the previous episodes.

    • LightPurple says:

      Alicent wasn’t as jarring for me. Her father had been positioning her for years and kept hammering into her mind that her friend Rhaenyra would have to kill her children (not a spoiler, he’s been saying that since Episode 2) to secure her throne. She declared open war with the green dress in the last episode and they managed to make the actresses look enough alike so I had to do a double take a few times.

      Rhaenyra was completely off for me.

  6. Amie says:

    I haven’t watched the latest episode but if you fast forward through the credits at the end of each episode, you see a preview for next week’s and the new actors playing Rhaenyra and Alicent were featured in it. I also did enough reading in the beginning of the season to know the actors would be replaced in a few episodes which pained me to know because young Rhaenyra and young Alicent were really perfect in their roles.

    The Targaryens are a crazy, unpredictable, and fiery bunch so I am not really rooting for anyone. They’ve all done despicable things at this point. The show is supposed to show the beginning of the fall of House Targaryen so since we all know it is about a royal family losing power, it brings out the worst in people. Like another royal family I know in real life…

  7. Bettyrose says:

    The thing that bugged me most was that Rhaenyra made a deal with her cousin that they’d produce the heir/spare as is their duty and *then* would do their own thing. It makes no sense that she’d get knocked up by a kings guard rather than her Valeryan husband whose alliance helps seal her right to the the throne. Unless he was unable to impregnate her in which case we need that detail.

    • Lightpurple says:

      And they both seemed to have moved on from their original “goose and roast duck” rather quickly although he had no choice

      • bettyrose says:

        He didn’t have a lot of options, but marrying a powerful woman who was happy to let him pursue his desires was a good opportunity for him. I’m sure he would have done his part to provide the heir/spare that secured both of their futures. Rhaenyra is very smart and knows the risk to her future, which is precisely why she agreed so easily to marrying her second cousin (something people still do in the modern era, so zero judgment). I need answers as to why she’d risk it all not first producing an heir/spare with Valeryan looks.

  8. Dwntwnjules says:

    Cooke is very good so far. I enjoyed watching her very much.

  9. Rice says:

    Matt Smith is so effing good in HotD! He plays his character (Daemon Targaryen) that you’re obviously supposed to hate but his swagger, unpredictability and audacity make you love him. Dracarys for the rest of them.

  10. Chic says:

    Daemon is a a chaos monster but I’m rooting for him.

  11. Godiva says:

    Who goes blackout drinking the day before starting a new job? Acting-big-break, or otherwise? And then humblebrags about it on a talkshow? This is some serious stupid showing.