“It Was Messy As F***”

Olivia Cooke discusses a sex scene that was ultimately cut from House of the Dragon.

The star of the HBO fantasy series, who plays Alicent Hightower, said she filmed an “animalistic” and “carnal” sex scene, which didn’t make the final cut.

“It was messy as fuck. It wasn’t beautiful, and that was really fun to do,” Cooke said in an interview with Elle. “I think Ryan [Condal, the showrunner] said we weren’t learning any more about the characters, which I disagree with slightly, but it’s okay. It’s his show.”

In the first episode of House of the Dragon Season 2, Cooke shares a scene with her co-star Fabien Frankel, in which his character Criston Cole is pleasuring Alicent. Cooke says that coming into the series, she thought she would have more sex scenes.

“I thought there’d be way more, and so I’m relieved that when it has been used for me, it’s showing Alicent being pleasured, which is amazing and doesn’t feel gratuitous,” she said. “It feels like we’re telling a story.”

In the same interview, co-star Emma D’Arcy talked about the bond they have with Cooke, which has developed in the short time they’ve known each other.

“It’s funny to talk about a friendship that is so fundamental in your life,” D’Arcy says of Cooke. “The thing I find strange is to realize that I suppose we haven’t known each other that long in broad terms, but she’s a pillar in my life. I would have found this a challenging experience if Liv was not on it.”