House of The Dragons' Olivia Cooke addresses feet scene
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON EPISODE NINE
House of Dragon has given fans more than their fair share of eye-popping scenes and now Olivia Cooke has opened up about that scene involving her feet.
The actress, 28, who plays Alicent Hightower, is more than aware of the crazy fan reaction to the foot fetish scene in the Game of Thrones' prequel's penultimate episode. Watch the scene here:
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She also knows what the internet is like and told Variety that she knows her 'feet will end up on various sites.'
In the scene that's got everyone talking, Cooke's character can be seen taking off her shoes as Larys Strong provides her an update on the ongoing political situation.
Specifically, that she's being betrayed by one of her ladies in waiting.
It's pretty clear from the get-go that her feet are the focal point of the scene, as the camera gives viewers various close ups of them.
Larys can't take his eyes off Alicent's feet, and it's not long before his hand slips beneath his clothing to pleasure himself after she takes off her stockings.
One fan joked in response to the scene: "Im screaming they made this mf in house of dragon have a feet fetish [sic]."
A second noted: "not to do spoilers but in house of the dragon a guy literally murders his family for irl feet pics [sic]."
"Jerking it to feet was not on my House of Dragon Bingo card," added a third shocked viewer.
Cooke said that she couldn't believe that the scene received such a strong reaction when the show features arguably more eye-popping moments.
She said: "It is wild, because there are beheadings, people getting their c**ks cut off, graphic violence and brothel scenes, but getting my feet out and him w**king off, that's the most shocking.
"It's funny, isn't it? I knew on the day, I didn't want this to be gratuitous at all because I know my feet will end up on various sites. It's wild how you can’t predict which scenes people have the biggest reactions to, and unfortunately it was that one."
The actor also addressed the power dynamic in the scene, which sees Alicent deliberately titillate Larys with her feet.
Cooke said: "She knows what Larys can do, how powerful he is and how he won't stop shy of killing his entire family in order to progress in this court.
"The dynamic shifts slightly all the time over the scene. He probably holds more weight. It's difficult, because she has no choice but to go along with a lot of the things that he does. She needs the information. Ultimately, she knows how she's going to get it. If she doesn't have the information, it could result in her death or in her usurpation or in her children's death."
Cooke continued: "I don't think there's any manipulation going on. It’s just she needs the information, and this is how she gets it. It's disgusting, it's demeaning, it's assault. But she's not really left with any choices."
And while House of Dragon fans might be sad that the first season has come to a close, they can take comfort in the knowledge that a second has already been confirmed, as reported by Digital Spy.
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones
Emma Guinness