Olivia Cooke dumped her Northern English accent to achieve acting fame.
Olivia Cooke dumped her Northern English accent to achieve acting fame
The ‘Slow Horses‘ and ‘House of the Dragon’ actress, 30, who plays Alicent Hightower in the ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off, has admitted her working class roots in Oldham left her feeling stupider than middle class actors.
Olivia – whose mother was a sales representative and her father a policeman – told The Times about her “really sad” decision to get rid of her native brogue: “I put on a voice when speaking to someone with a different upbringing. I’m proud of where I come from but it was a source of embarrassment because I didn’t feel as intelligent as others.
“I speak about that to my therapist and try not to do it, but I do have a chip on my shoulder about being working class.”
Olivia starred as Becky Sharp in ITV’s adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s high-society epic ‘Vanity Fair’ before she landed the role of Alicent in ‘House of the Dragon’.
She also told The Times that acting was becoming harder for people from less well-off backgrounds to break into.
Olivia went on: “It is a really exclusive industry. It’s not equitable, the arts are not funded in state schools.
“But drama class is not just about getting into this industry – it can help kids to grow in confidence and feel accepted.”
Despite being youthful, Olivia’s ‘House of the Dragon’ character is a grandmother in the HBO show – with the actors portraying her on-screen sons Ewan Mitchell and Tom Glynn-Carney aged 27 and 29.
She also told The Times she thought her casting could reflect how hard it can be for older actresses to get roles, adding: “If they can create dragons, they could have made me look younger and then older.
“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.”
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