House of the Dragon star says she flubbed a major Star Wars audition — and why
Before dragons, Olivia Cooke took a swing at a galaxy far, far away — auditioning to play Rey, not just the secondary Last Jedi role she was linked to — and she says she totally blew it.
If you ever wondered what it would feel like to absolutely flub a Star Wars audition, turns out even stars have stories that are, frankly, a bit brutal. Olivia Cooke – yes, that's Alicent in House of the Dragon, and previously of Ready Player One fame – just had a bit of a heart-to-heart about a botched shot at one of the biggest roles in blockbuster history.
Not That Star Wars Role, Actually
There’s long been a bit of chatter online that Cooke was up for the part of Rose Tico in The Last Jedi – the role that eventually went to Kelly Marie Tran. Except, according to Cooke herself, that rumour is completely off the mark. In a recent chat with Josh Horowitz, Cooke said she doesn’t recall ever testing for Rose, and suggested the whole tale probably started with a hopeful agent just stirring things up. Wouldn’t be the first time, to be fair.
Going for Rey: The Actual Star Wars Audition
What did happen, though, was considerably higher stakes. Cooke remembered auditioning for Rey – yes, the lead. She went through the whole process at least twice: one trip to Los Angeles, and then another session with J. J. Abrams directly, for The Force Awakens. Here’s how she remembers it:
“I was s—. I was really bad. You know when you go into an audition, and you’re just not bringing it. You’ve let yourself and everyone down in the room. Daisy did such an amazing job. I just wasn’t that kind of an actor at that time. You know, it wasn’t a fit.”
Not exactly the fairy-tale audition story, but at least she’s honest about it. She reckons she just wasn’t right for Rey back then, and, to be fair, Daisy Ridley did absolutely run away with it. So you won’t be watching any “what if” deepfakes of Olivia as Rey anytime soon.
Not-So-Secret CV
In the end, not nailing that Star Wars lead didn’t exactly dent her career. Cooke’s gone on to notch up a frankly impressive run across TV and film, including roles in:
- Ready Player One (as Art3mis/Samantha, Spielberg blockbuster)
- Bates Motel
- Sound of Metal
- Vanity Fair
- Slow Horses
- House of the Dragon (currently wielding power and snarl in season 2)
And if you missed it: House of the Dragon just kicked off its third season, with episode one already up on HBO Max. So Cooke’s doing just fine, even if there’s no lightsaber in hand.