House of the Dragon's Olivia Cooke Criticises Age Gap Between Her And Alicent's Kids

18 June 2024, 13:05 | Updated: 1 July 2024, 15:02

By Sam Prance

How old is Alicent in House of the Dragon season 2? Olivia Cooke plays a grandparent in the show.

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Olivia Cooke has addressed criticism surrounding her age in House of the Dragon and said that she actually agrees with it.

House of the Dragon season 1 takes place over many years. When we initially meet Rhaenyra and Alicent they're teenagers played by Milly Alcock and Emily Carey. Halfway through the season, the show flashes forward to Rhaenyra and Alicent as parents played by Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke. By the end of the season, both characters are grandparents.

Some people have called out the show for casting Emma and Olivia as Rhaenyra and Alicent when they are not much older than the actors playing their children. How old are Rhaenyra and Alicent though? How old are Emma and Olivia? Here's what Olivia has said about her age and the age gap between her and Alicent's kids.

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How old is Olivia Cooke? How old is Emma D'Arcy?

In real life, Olivia Cooke is 30 years old. She was born on 27th December 1993. In House of the Dragon season 2, Alicent is supposed to be around 37 years old.

Meanwhile, Emma D'Arcy is 31 years old and their birthday is 27th June 1992. As for Rhaenyra, she's around 32 years old in season 2. In the books, there's nine years between Alicent and Rhaenyra.

Despite being just 30 years old in real life, Olivia plays the mother of Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon), who is 29, Ewan Mitchell (Aemond), who is 27, and Phia Saban (Helaena), who is 25 - so there's less than five years between her and her children. Their characters are much younger though. Aegon is 18, Aemond is 16 and Helaena is 17.

Responding to the criticism surrounding her age and her casting with The Times, Olivia stated: "I have really complicated feelings towards it. If they can create dragons, they could have made me look younger – and then older. Or maybe they should have cast actors in their forties?"

She added: "It’s happened now and I’m grateful for the role, but I’ve just turned 30 and I’m playing a grandma. There is a real reticence to see women age on screen. A real reticence."

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Olivia Cooke and Phia Saban in House of the Dragon season 1. Picture: HBO / Alamy

Olivia said that it's "hysterical" when she thinks about how close in age she is to Tom who plays her son Aegon in the show. She joked: "Because Tom is a year younger and I’m, like, ‘Son, come here! Come on to the bosom!’ It is a strange dynamic that I’m very aware of."

She ended saying: "But I also don’t want to slag off the show – it’s just something Emma and I have talked about a lot. It’s strange. I bristle a bit because the years between being a teenager and now a grandma on screen were so short for me."