“f**king horrible”- House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke opens up about disturbing fan reactions 

Olivia Cooke has been appearing in the House of the Dragon series as Queen Alicent Hightower. Her character's strong presence and actions in the series make her a pivotal part of the HBO series.

While her performance makes a mark on the audience, the nature of her character has been drawing criticism from some fans on the internet. This has been happening to several other cast members and their characters in the show.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cooke discussed some unpleasant fan reactions to her and other fellow actors. She said:

"Some of the fans have been f**king horrible to our cast."

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Olivia Cooke shares thoughts on hateful reactions by some fans

A still from the series (Image via HBO)

House of the Dragon series has been delivering unexpected twists and turns, keeping global viewers deeply involved at every step. As fans take to social media platforms to discuss the show and its characters, the cast has become the target of disturbing reactions from some viewers.

Actress Olivia Cooke, who plays Queen Alicent in the series, has been at the receiving end of such hateful interactions along with other cast members. In her recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she laid out her thoughts on such comments that she and her co-stars have faced. Recalling some of such interactions, the actress said:

"They’ll (fans) take a picture, and then they’ll be like: ‘We HATE your character!’ Sometimes people do say that with a lot of malice.”

While questioning such reactions, Olivia Cooke also pointed out how the team supports each other through it all. She said in the interview:

"It makes me really angry that we’re then supposed to just bow down and (pay) obeisance to these people that only want to say the most debased, hate-filled things. But thankfully, we’ve all experienced it in our own way, and we’ve got each other, which doesn’t make it right.”

Talking about other cast members' experience with such reactions, Olivia Cooke stated:

"I think (it’s the) huge emotions. There’s also been really wonderful interactions and I’m so glad that Emma (D'Arcy) gets as much love as they do as well, because they’re f**king fantastic and such a beautiful, wonderful human as well… Matt’s (Smith) not a stranger to the fury of fandom so he takes it on the chin. He holds himself in a really lovely way where he doesn’t let it stick to him."

These remarks on the negative side of the fandom put Cooke in a clear stance against such negativity while also showcasing how she and the team make extra efforts to overcome the impact of it.

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Olivia Cooke talks about her role and more from House of the Dragon series

A still from the series (Image via HBO)

Olivia Cooke's journey to landing the role of Alicent and carrying her through the ups and downs in the plot was not so easy. After crossing the lengthy audition process and waiting for long durations, getting to play the character remained a significant step in her career.

In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Olivia Cooke spoke about it and said:

"I got a call saying, ‘They want to put you on hold for two weeks, so don’t take any other jobs. And I was like, ‘Absolutely fine. There are no jobs going but sure, if they want to think that I’m incredibly in demand.’ Then, in October, I got the call that that they wanted to offer me the part."

Adding to it, she stated:

"When something goes on for that long, you go beyond wanting it. It becomes, ‘Well, I’ve imagined my whole life doing this job now.’ It felt really important that I got it. So, thank God I did.”

From being married to King Viserys I Targaryen to giving a tough fight to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent's story from maiden to queen remained full of challenges, twists, and risks. Expressing her take on her character, Olivia Cooke shared:

"I do feel protective of Alicent. I have to be empathetic, and I feel f**king sorry for her. I feel she’s grown up into this patriarchal system and she’s been brainwashed by her father to honor this lineage.”

With House of the Dragon season 3 on its way, viewers across the globe await to know what lies ahead for Olivia Cooke's Queen Alicent and her children in the series.

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Stay tuned for more updates.