From playing a dying girl in a teen drama to playing the Queen in one of the most popular television shows of 2022, actressOlivia Cookeboasts an extensive filmography. She has worked alongside many top-billed actors like Vera Farmiga inBates Motel,Annette Bening and Oscar Isaac inLife Itself,and Anya Taylor-Joy inThoroughbreds.She has even starred in the Academy Award-winning filmThe Sound of Metal.Cooke has played lovers, sociopaths, characters hell-bent on revenge, and even an avatar of herself in the 2018 Steven Spielberg virtual reality filmReady Player One,searching for the Easter Egg in and outside the OASIS.
Most notably, Cooke is now playing the aged-up version of Queen Alicent Hightower in the newestGame of Thronesspinoff seriesHouse of the Dragon.She is set to play the Queen for the remainder of the series, which has already beenrenewed for a second season.Alongside this ongoing portrayal, the thrillerMother’s Milkwith Hilary Swankand Cooke as the leads is set to premiere in 2023. Until then, here are Olivia Cooke’s best performances, ranked.
6Ready Player One
In the Spielberg virtual reality epic of 2018,Ready Player One, Cooke plays the avatar called Art3mis, also known as the human Samantha. Playing the cool girl known for her skills in the game and her search for the Easter Eggs and a lifetime of riches, she ends up being so much more than her avatar. She and the main character Parzival, also known as Wade, end up creating a bond and helping save their world, virtually and in real life. Cooke plays an excellent shape-shifter with suave and charisma inside the game, and passion and realness in the outside world. A true action heroine who is equal fun to watch and root for at the same time.
Related:Olivia Cooke Admits She Was ‘Very Hungover’ During First Day on House of the Dragon
5Thoroughbreds
Starring alongside Anya Taylor Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, The Witch) and Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Green Room)in the crime dramaThoroughbreds, Cooke plays Amanda, the girl with an unknown disorder that has left her emotionless. Lily (Taylor-Joy) is paid by Amanda’s mother to be her daughter’s friend. After some time of no contact, they meet again and hatch a plan to solve all of their problems. Though playing a character with sociopathic tendencies, Cooke’s performance is witty, unsettling, and captivating to watch.
4Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
In the book adaptation of the 2015 comedic romance filmMe and Earl and The Dying Girl, Cooke plays Rachel, a young girl dying of cancer. Two best friends, Earl and Greg, set out to make a movie for their acquaintance Rachel as she fights cancer, but learn how to accept one another and oneself while making the film. While playing the love interest in an early-2000s young adult movie, Cooke’s character plays into those tropes, but also breaks them. Being fiercely independent and really wanting nothing to do with Greg, she points out his flaws and weaknesses and delivers a tear-jerking performance.
3Bates Motel
Playing another girl with an illness, Cooke plays the character Emma Decody in the prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’sPsycho,Bates Motel.She develops a crush on Norman Bates (played by Freddie Highmore) and is a very present character in his and his mothers' life. Her performance gives Emma the old-soul-like quality that she is praised for, and the gentle quirkiness that fits perfectly into the worlds ofPsychoandBates Motel.
Related:House of the Dragon: What to Know About the Key Characters
2Sound of Metal
In the Academy Award-winning filmSound of Metal, drummer Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed) loses his hearing and desperately tries to find himself after the loss of his art form. Cooke plays Lou, Ruben’s girlfriend who sings, and whom he loves desperately. Cooke does a fantastic job playing the lover of someone who is self-destructive. Her performance is so moving, causing us to feel along with her and hurt when she ultimately has to leave Ruben to save both herself and him as well. Cooke shines in a serious role and gives such an emotional performance inSound of Metal.
1House of the Dragon
Game of Thronesfans are raving about the new prequel series,House of the Dragon.With Cooke playing one of the leads, she partners the role with 18-year-old Emily Cary, both playing the Queen Alicent Hightower at different stages of her life. One being as a child growing into her role in the society, and one as Queen, rivaling Emma D’Arcy and Millie Alcock’s character of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Cooke brings a fierce elegance and an underlying unraveling to her character. Playing a villain that does not view herself as such makes for a beautifully interesting performance and a fantastic rivalry in both the main characters. With her attachment to theHouse of the Dragonworld now, there is no doubt we will be seeing Cooke in many more projects to come.
