A CONVERSATION WITH OLIVIA COOKE

You have an impressive career across genres, from thrillers like Bates Motel and The Good Mother to blockbusters like Ready Player One and Oscar-winning films like Sound of Metal. What draws you to a role when you’re choosing your next project?

To begin with, it comes down to the script: if I’m emotionally activated by the source material and it’s something that I feel like I could play and shape, then I will be naturally drawn to it. Closely tied with that is who the director will be. I’m drawn to inspiring, creative people. If I get on well with a particular director or if I’m a big fan of their work, or if I feel like they are directing a project that is something different and exciting, then that clinches it too.

One of the key points of your career is the role of Alicent Hightower in the hugely successful series House of the Dragon. How do you prepare to immerse yourself in such a different world?

The set design helps a lot. In House of the Dragon we have an amazing Production Designer, Jim Clay, who has created incredibly immersive environments like the Red Keep, the castle that I inhabit, which is the fully functioning interior of a castle. It has different levels and staircases in different rooms and ante chambers. Aside from the dragon scenes filmed on green screens, I interact naturally with my surroundings. I took on the role of Alicent Hightower as if I was playing her in any normal environment. The principal concern with any role I take on is being able to portray emotional truth and to connect and convey what the character is going through. The fantasy world, the costumes, the dragons, is just another element for me. I always try to come to Alicent with a desire to voice that nugget of ultimate truth within the character and aim to convey that as best as I can.

Versatility seems to be a defining trait of your career. Do you feel this reflects your personality off-screen as well?

I think so, yes. I often feel torn in different directions and I think certain friendships and environments and relationships bring out different elements of my personality. I also like playing with style and fashion and hairstyles too: I have had every colour and every cut known to man, just because of the nature of my job. So it’s always fun to stretch myself and try on all these different looks. I believe that your personality can change depending on who you’re with or the stage of life you’re at. We are all continually adapting and evolving.

We are on the set of FOPE’s new campaign, a brand known for its versatile and iconic pieces. Is jewellery part of your daily life?

It does. My day to day life when I’m not on set is very active and varied, so I will be going from the gym to going into a business meeting and then going on to having a dinner or drinks with friends, so I like to have a capsule jewellery wardrobe that can envelop all of those things and one that also makes me feel both confident and chic, yet also expresses my personality.

Do you have a particular piece of jewellery that holds sentimental value for you?

Yes. My mum’s engagement ring, even though they divorced! So I’m really hoping it isn’t cursed!  But it is a piece of jewellery that reminds me of my mum whenever I wear it. I also just love its design – it’s a simple elegant gold ring set with a few diamonds and very understated, which I feel I’m most drawn to when it comes to jewellery.

An understated luxury – something very contemporary. What does luxury mean to you?

Luxury I think is all about a type of quality that can pass the test of time. Whether that is a beautiful pair of jeans that are exquisitely tailored, or a friendship that feels so rich and magnetic it can last for decades. Or a piece of jewellery that is timeless and chic and isn’t reliant on what’s trending in 2025 – a piece of jewellery that is designed to be worn for decades of wear.

Why are you in Rome, can you share something about the project you’re currently working on?

Yes, a little. It is called Switzerland and is something of an erotic, psychological thriller, with a story that follows the relationship between a publisher and the crime author Patricia Highsmith in her later years. It has the wonderful Helen Mirren in it and is directed by Anton Corbijn who I’ve been a huge fan of for a long time, so it was wonderful to play a part in this film.

What do you like about Italy and Italian culture?

What impressed me most was the reverence for history and the respect for artefacts, architecture and art and beauty, that I saw in Rome. I think there’s something to be said about how the Colosseum is still standing and there’s not any rush to bulldoze down the old in any way. There is a huge respect for history and culture there, and a sense of the importance of looking back in order to move forward.

Has being in Italy inspired you in any way?

Being in Rome has definitely inspired me to cook more when I get home! It also gave me the inspiration to inject more art into my life and in fact I’ve just signed up for some Life Drawing classes in a couple of weeks when I’m back in London. Even though I’m not very good at art, I get a lot of satisfaction and joy from making something with my hands, it feels good to make something.

You have been chosen as FOPE’s very first global brand ambassador – what does this mean for you?

It is a great honour, and I feel incredibly grateful and happy that FOPE believes I match the brand’s ethos, which is a kind of minimal, chic, timeless sensibility. That is exactly what I look for when I’m choosing my own clothes and jewellery too:  to purchase something that doesn’t feel throwaway and something that I can integrate into my life. So I’m really happy that you thought that I can in some way portray that. I’ve played so many different parts with very different looks as an actor, and even on this shoot, we have played around with different characters and alternate styles, and FOPE’s jewellery just fits in so seamlessly within all of the different looks. I love the fact that FOPE jewellery really works with whatever mood or whatever environment you’re in.

Do you have any favourite pieces from the new collections that you have been wearing today?

I really loved the Flex’it gold bracelets. They are so easy to wear and really beautifully designed to work seamlessly with whatever you are wearing. You can go from day to night with them and they just elevate whatever style you want to wear.

It looks like you are going to have a busy year ahead of you, with lots of projects in the pipeline. Is there any one forthcoming release you are especially looking forward to, or most proud of, that you can talk about?

Yes, there’s a film coming out later this year called Visitation by the director Nicolas Pesce, who I am obsessed with, I think he is a wonderful man and a wonderful director. But I haven’t actually seen the film yet. I was sent a link to watch it, but because it’s a horror film, I’ve been too scared to watch it on my own! I’ve also got an Amazon Prime show directed by Robin Wright coming out in the Autumn too. It’s a psychological thriller called The Girlfriend, and I’m excited to see that as well.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?

Probably Sound of Metal with Riz Ahmed, directed by Darius Marder. It is so beautifully directed and wonderfully performed by Riz and all the cast so I was very proud to be a part of it. Also the fact that I starred in a Speilberg film, Ready Player One, when I was just 22, which I still can’t believe happened to me, it feels so distant now, that it is ten years ago. But to think that actually happened makes me very proud of my 22 year old self.

And do you have any specific ambitions for the future?

I do a lot of writing, and I would like to get to the place where I can be confident enough to show it to someone. I love writing, just for myself, but it would be nice to get to the stage of being able to make something from what I’ve written. So I’m putting that thought out into the universe now to see what happens!