Working-Class Identity

Olivia Cooke has become one of House of the Dragon’s most talked-about stars, but the role has not insulated her from the pressures that come with fame, class, and public judgment. As Alicent Hightower, she has spent two seasons at the center of Westeros power games, and the reaction to the character has ranged from devotion to outright hostility. That split has followed Cooke beyond the screen. The actor says some viewers have stopped her in the street to complain directly about Alicent, while others have embraced the character in unexpected ways, including queer women and non-binary fans who see something relatable in Alicent’s unravelling. “Alicent is a product of the patriarchy,” Cooke says, noting that the character’s recent liberation has opened the door to more complicated readings. From Oldham to Westeros Cooke grew up in Oldham and started going to the Oldham Theatre Workshop when she was eight. The local youth theatre helped launch a number of British actors, and Cooke says it gave her a crucial place to perform and develop. She has spoken before about the barriers facing working-class actors with northern accents, and she remains blunt about how much of the industry still depends on old networks. “There is a huge amount of talent to be found everywhere. It can’t just be the Harrow and Eton lot,” she says in one of the article’s strongest lines. Her frustration is not only personal. Cooke argues that fewer arts opportunities for young people mean fewer chances for children to build confidence, social skills, and creative expression. She says drama workshops matter because they keep young people engaged, rather than isolated on their phones. Power, privilege and audience divide House of the Dragon has turned Alicent into a lightning rod, and Cooke says the fan reaction can be intense in the real world as well as online. At times, people have asked for a photo and then immediately insulted her character, something she says she takes in her stride. She has also seen that same split in another recent project, The Girlfriend, where audiences were divided over whether they backed Cherry Laine or Robin Wright’s Laura. Cooke’s parents even responded differently, with her mum firmly on Cherry’s side and her dad describing the show as “being a bit like a radio play for him”. Why she deleted Instagram Cooke deleted her Instagram six months ago after growing tired of what she saw on the platform. She says her feed had become filled with “looksmaxxers” and body-transformation content that felt unhealthy and distorted her sense of self. She also became an unlikely meme after a House of the Dragon promo clip featuring her and Emma D’Arcy went viral. D’Arcy’s negroni sbagliato line and Cooke’s quick reply, “Ooh, stunnin’,” spread widely, though Cooke says the moment was only ever a brief curiosity in an attention-deficit online culture. A working-class identity that still feels real Cooke laughs that her mother now scoffs when she calls herself working class, saying, “She’s like, you’re not working class any more.” Even so, Cooke insists her sensibility remains rooted in that background, even if her career has taken her far beyond it. That sense of identity has shaped her views on who gets access to the arts, and why it matters to keep those routes open. For Cooke, the point is not simply who gets famous, but who gets to be heard in the first place. She is now heading into another stretch of major projects, including Visitation, Brides, and a Patricia Highsmith film that may now have a new title. House of the Dragon is also heading toward its fourth and final season, and Cooke says Alicent survives in the book, adding that “so good behaviour-willing, I won’t get the chop.” Read more at: www.theguardian.com

Olivia Cooke Says Her Mum Thinks She’s Not Working Class Anymore, and That Still Stings