Olivia Cooke reveals she’d never watched Game of Thrones before auditioning for prequel House Of The Dragon
She’s landed a leading role in the highly anticipated Game Of Thrones prequel House Of The Dragons.
But British actress Olivia Cooke confessed to Variety that she had never watched the hit HBO series when she first auditioned for the spinoff.
‘When I read the script, I hadn’t seen any Game of Thrones,’ she explained. ‘But then I binged it and now I’m obsessed.’
Went in blind: British actress Olivia Cooke, 27, told Variety she had never watched Game Of Thrones before her first audition for the HBO prequel House Of The Dragon (pictured in 2018)
Cooke, 27, has signed on to play Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Hand of the King Otto Hightower, in the new show that charts the history of the House Targaryen.
The series is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones and details are being kept very much under wraps.
The actress has made a name for herself with roles in A+E’s TV series Bates Motel, the ITV/Amazon mini series Vanity Fair and the Amazon Original Movie Sound Of Metal.
Secret: Cooke landed the role of Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Hand of the King Otto Hightower, in the spinoff, details of which are being kept closely under wraps
All that’s known: The series is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones and charts the history of the House Targaryen (Pictured Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in GOT)
Cooke said she knew in October that she was going to star in the series but had to keep it a secret for two months until HBO’s official announcement.
She told Variety she has seen some scripts but naturally can’t talk about them.
As for her character, she shared: ‘I’ve had one sort of preliminary fitting when they just draped some fabric on me but that was it.’
Joining Cooke in House of the Dragon will be fellow Brits Matt Smith, Paddy Considine and Emma D’Arcy.
The fantasy drama is slated to debut on HBO Max sometime in 2022.
Period drama: Cooke won critical praise for her performance as Becky Sharp in the ITV/Amazon co-production of Vanity Fair released in 2018
High profile performances: She’s also known for her role in the A+E TV series Bates Motel, left, and the Amazon Original Movie Sound of Metal, right