House of the Dragon is the first of (potentially) several Game of Thrones prequel shows in the works at HBO, and the only one we know is going forward for sure. Set over 100 years before the original show, it tells the story of the Dance of the Dragons, a Targaryen civil war that tore Westeros apart.
Filming should start soon, and we already know who will play some of the lead characters. Paddy Considine is King Viserys I Targaryen, Matt Smith is his hot-headed brother Daemon, Emma D’Arcy is his ambitious daughter Rhaenyra, and Olivia Cooke is his second wife Alicent Hightower, who is convinced that her son by King Viserys should sit the Iron Throne rather than Rhaenyra, which puts them on a collision course.
Cooke has a couple of other movies getting buzz right now, including the critically acclaimed Sound of Metal with Riz Ahmed and Little Fish, about a pandemic (weird timing) that wipes people’s memories. She was talking to SyFy Wire about the latter and shared a bit about her Game of Thrones journey. Naturally, she binged the show in preparation for her role as Alicent, and has become a proper fan.
“I was able to follow it all,” Cooke said when asked if anything confused her on her first watch. “I had someone with me who had seen it previously to help. But I did have questions, like, ‘Where are we now?’ ‘Do we know this family?’ ‘Have we seen this sigil before?’ ‘What’s on that banner?’ I had more logistical and geographical questions, rather than plot.”
With its dozens of characters, locations and plotlines, Cooke is far from the first person to need a little primer on the where and when and who of Westeros. The richness of the world is part of the reason it was such a big success. Hopefully House of the Dragon will carry it on.
Which Game of Thrones actor would produce a “fangirl reaction” in Olivia Cooke?
Cooke even has a favorite character, or at least, someone she’d be especially excited to meet:
Maybe Bronn of [the] Blackwater? I’ve met Peter Dinklage before at a party, and we had a very nice chat, but I hadn’t really seen Game of Thrones then. So now, I would like to say how he was my favorite character and how great he is. I don’t think I’d blackout, though. I think I’d be cool. [Laughs]
Tyrion and Bronn: Cooke has good taste.
House of the Dragon is due out on HBO in 2022.
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