Transforming from House of Dragon’s Queen Alicent Hightower, Olivia Cooke’s new role as a glamorous estate agent intent on seeking revenge on her boyfriend’s overbearing mother couldn’t be any more different – or so it seems.
But now Olivia, 31, who plays the central role in Amazon Prime thriller, The Girlfriend, has opened up about being faced with yet another script full of racy sex scenes, as she admits the hot and heavy takes are ‘happening all the time’.
In the trailer for the dark and sexy drama, audiences see Olivia’s character, Cherry, meeting medical student Daniel, played by Laurie Davidson, before the pair embark on a steamy affair, which includes several sex scenes, including a nude visual in which Olivia is seen laying on her stomach, butt-naked, next to a luxury swimming pool.
Admitting that she finds the scenes ‘humiliating’, Olivia – who has also starred in Bates Motel and The Secret of Crickley Hall – said last week, ‘You see it looming in the schedule and you’re like, 'Jesus Christ!' For some reason, it’s all happened to me as I’ve turned 30. It’s happening quite a lot . . . it’s happening all the time. My career at the moment is like the humiliation of Olivia Cooke.’
Olivia, who is dating her House of Dragon co-star Ralph Davis, did, however, reveal that filming her intimate scenes have become a lot less embarrassing with the help of two lesser-known behind-the-scenes tricks.
One being the introduction of ‘intimacy coordinators’ - professionals who help stars feel comfortable during sex scenes. Another, is ‘intimacy garments’, which Olivia quips are ‘like a bit of gusset with a silicon pad’ that stars are asked to tape on to their own privates.
So far, so good, until Olivia says she was forced to ask for her dresser’s help, admitting, ‘And so I bent over and I’m spreading — it’s so mortifying. But rise above and disassociate – out of body… this is weird, this is odd.’
However, Olivia is no stranger to intimate scenes, having simulated receiving oral sex for the House of Dragon when Alicent embarks in a secret arrangement with a knight, Ser Criston Cole, played by Fabien Frankel.
Olivia replaced younger actress Emily Carey after a time jump, who filmed a gruesome scene during which Alicent is summoned and essentially raped by her ageing husband, the king, whose weeping back she is forced to look at in a mirror throughout.
And while Emily praised her co-star, Paddy Considine, as ‘a joy’, she admitted that being just 17 at the time, while Paddy was 47, she had initially been ‘scared’ and ‘concerned’ over filming.
Both actresses have since praised the introduction of intimacy co-ordinators, especially for young women, with Olivia shockingly revealing how actresses can be labelled ‘a b****’ or ‘difficult; when they raise their discomfort during sex scenes.
‘It’s amazing to me that people had to just fudge their way through those scenes,’ Olivia admitted, adding that most stars want to reflect the ‘human experience’ without feeling like ‘a chunk’ of themselves has been taken.