Olivia Cooke became a meme in 2022 after one of her interviews for the ‘House of the Dragon’ promo tour went viral on the internet. She and Emma D’Arcy reflected on the online joke in a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly. The Rhaenyra Targaryen actress said:
“I don’t have anything illuminating to say on it because it’s very hard to know how to react when you become a meme.”
Cooke shared mixed feelings:
“We were just trying to make each other laugh. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. I did hate it for a very long time. I was in the pub. A woman opened the door for me and she said with a thick Spanish accent, ‘Stunnin’!’ I was just like, ‘Oh my God. Over a decade’s worth of work reduced to a single word in my lexicon.’”
The Meme That Went Viral
Cooke and D’Arcy shot promos for HBO after appearing at a Hall H panel for the ‘House of the Dragon’ cast’s first public gathering. The two picked and asked each other questions from a dragon egg-shaped bowl.
D’Arcy replied to a question about his drink of choice with ‘Negroni Spagliato with prosecco in it.’ The video showing the Alicent Hightower actress react by saying ‘Stunnin’!’ went viral online and turned into a meme.
The duo came to appreciate fans’ response after realizing it was a result of their chemistry.
More Jokes To Come From Season 2 Promo
More promo videos from the co-stars will follow in upcoming weeks since ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 release is getting closer. A title sequence or a scene from the HBO series will include Alicent and Rhaenyra standing together on a life-size chess board, according to Cooke.
The actress is worried that the scene will land in the meme field like the ‘Harry Potter’ chess scene. She admitted:
“Honest to God, when we walked on and I saw the chess board, I was like, ‘Well, this is over.’ It’s in my head the whole time. I refuse to do it. It’s just sad how you work for eight months and it f*cking gets reduced to a f*cking TikTok, and that makes me sad.”
The ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff’s new season will premiere on June 16.
