Olivia Cooke was ‘naive’ about her newfound House of the Dragon fame
(Picture: Harper’s Bazaar)Olivia Cooke has said she was "naive" for reading fan feedback about her performance on House Of The Dragon.
The actress said that reading the media attention from the sci-fi series and reviews on social media felt like “self-flagellating”.
“It’s mad because what they’re talking about is this fantasy version of me that doesn’t exist whatsoever,” she told Harpers Bazaar.
The 28-year-old said that there was “an immediate visibility” that she had never experienced before starring in the show.
“I’m so naive,” said Cooke, who previously starred in Bates Hotel. “But I think I was purposely because I didn’t want to confront this anxiety.”
Cooke, who also said that she finds it “so odd” to be talked about by people who she doesn’t know as if she knows them, described Game of Thrones fans as “noisy”.
And she admitted that “having to block your ears and eyes from that has been a challenge”.
“It’s like the school playground – you want to know what everyone is saying about you and what’s been said,” she explained.
As for how she’s now handling all the unwanted attention, she said: “All you can do is be as authentic as possible.”
Cooke “felt amazing” after landing the role of Alicent Hightower.
However, she soon began to worry that her life was going to "change in a really scary way. And: ‘what have I done?’”
The interview follows her chat with The Guardian in October when she admitted she had never seen an episode of Game of Thrones before landing the role in the prequel.
“But to my own detriment,” she said, “because it’s really f***ing good.”
