Olivia Cooke Calls Out ‘Ugliness’ in the House of the Dragon Fandom

Olivia Cooke, 32, has spoken publicly about a difficult year that combined a serious health scare with online abuse from fans of House of the Dragon. Speaking to British GQ, Cooke said she contracted shingles late last year while staying at her House of the Dragon castmate Gayle Rankin's house in upstate New York, after a back-to-back blitz of filming, reshoots, and press. She returned to London for treatment and took a six-month break that lasted until June. "I feel like the past two years, I've been, like, jobs, jobs, jobs, and I got really burnt out," she told GQ. "Your body has a way of flooring you to make sure that you do actually lie down."

Cooke described the physical toll in detail, including "two welts on each bum cheek" from injecting shingles medication, along with migraines and rashes. During her recovery at her Victorian townhouse in east London with partner Ralph Davis, she cooked daily meals and reorganised her cupboards, calling herself "a real housewife, like, horribly, but I enjoyed it."

The actress also deactivated her social media accounts during her break, citing the "ugliness," misogyny, and racism she encountered in the House of the Dragon fandom, as Variety reported. Vulture headlined her comments under "Olivia Cooke Calls Out 'Ugliness' in the House of the Dragon Fandom." Cooke plays Alicent Hightower in the Game of Thrones prequel, whose third season dropped in summer. British GQ noted the controversial Queen Alicent gave fans a lot to react to this season, including a reluctant kiss with her own son, and that some fans turned their frustration on Cooke herself while others cast her as an unwilling victim of the directors.

Cooke told The Independent that encounters with fans can be vitriolic, recounting people asking for a picture and then saying, "I f****** hate your character, by the way," or "Your character's a ****" She said she tries to take it in her stride but does not want her comments to come across as "Woe is me," adding that she is very grateful for the job.

She has since returned to Instagram as of October but remains removed from what she calls the algorithm-driven celebrity industrial complex. "Even replying to a DM from someone that is semi-famous or wholly famous, that's anxiety," she told GQ. Cooke is currently filming A Talent for Murder, in which she portrays an American heiress on the run, and this month was shooting in the Dolomites and Rome.