"If I love the character, then that's all that matters to me. It doesn't really matter what genre it is."
Olivia Kate Cooke (born 27 December 1993 in Oldham, England) is an English actress.
She is known for her roles as Emma Decody in the A&E drama thriller series Bates Motel, Rachel Kushner in the comedy-drama film Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Samantha Cook in Ready Player One, Becky Sharp in the period drama miniseries Vanity Fair and Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon. In 2021, she played Dark Voice in the podcast Soft Voice.
Filmography:
- Blackout (2012) - Meg Demoys
- The Secret of Crickley Hall (2012) - Nancy Linnet
- Bates Motel (2013 — 2017) - Emma Decody
- The Quiet Ones (2014) - Jane Harper
- The Signal (2014) - Haley Peterson
- Ouija (2014) - Laine Morris
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) - Rachel Kushner
- Axe Cop (2015) - Loch Ness Monster (voice)
- The Limehouse Golem (2016) - Lizzie Cree
- Katie Says Goodbye (2016) - Katie
- Thoroughbreds (2017) - Amanda
- Ready Player One (2018) - Samantha Cook
- Vanity Fair (2018) - Becky Sharp
- Life Itself (2018) - Dylan Dempsey
- Sound of Metal (2019) - Lou
- Modern Love (2019) - Karla
- Naked Singularity (2020) - TBA
- Little Fish (2020) - Ema
- Pixie (2020) - Pixie
- Slow Horses (2022) - Sid Baker
- House of the Dragon (2022-) - Alicent Hightower
Other:
- Soft Voice as Dark Voice
Tropes associated with her work:
- Fake American: Cooke is British, but she knows how to imitate an American accent, as Bates Motel can prove. Little Fish however lets her use her own Oldham accent.
- Hollywood Homely: For some strange reason, Hollywood desperately tries to cast Cooke in these roles, especially in Bates Motel and Ready Player One.
- Oop North: She's from Oldham and has the accent to prove it.
- What Could Have Been:
- She was shortlisted for the role of Jade Butterfield in the 2014 adaptation of Endless Love, with Gabriella Wilde ultimately getting the part.
- She was one of many actresses in the running for Rose Tico in The Last Jedi, with the role eventually going to Kelly Marie Tran.
- She was considered for the role of Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, before Hailee Steinfeld was cast.
- She was one of many actresses considered for the role of Kayla, the human lead in Tom & Jerry, with Chloë Grace Moretz receiving the part.
