House of the Dragon's Olivia Cooke criticises real-life age gap between her and Alicent's kids
24 June 2026, 15:44
How old is Alicent in House of the Dragon season 3? Olivia Cooke plays a grandparent in the show.
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Olivia Cooke has addressed criticism surrounding her age in House of the Dragon and said that she agrees with it.
House of the Dragon season 1 takes place over many years. When we meet Rhaenyra and Alicent they are teenagers played by Milly Alcock and Emily Carey. Halfway through the season, the show flashes forward to Rhaenyra and Alicent as parents played by Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke. Now, both characters are grandparents.
Some people have called out the show for casting Emma and Olivia as Rhaenyra and Alicent when they aren't much older than the actors playing their children. How old are Rhaenyra and Alicent? How old are Emma and Olivia?
Here's what Olivia has said about her age and the age gap between her and Alicent's kids in season 3.
- Read more: House of the Dragon's Ewan Mitchell defends controversial scene that isn't in the book
- Read more: Who dies in House of the Dragon season 3? Every death in episode 1 explained
How old is Olivia Cooke? How old is Emma D'Arcy?
Inside House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1
How old is Olivia Cooke? How old is Alicent?
In real life, Olivia Cooke is 32 years old. She was born on 27th December 1993 and she has played Alicent across her entire adult life. In House of the Dragon season 3, Alicent is supposed to be around 37 years old.
How old is Emma D'Arcy? How old is Rhaenyra?
Meanwhile, Emma D'Arcy is 31 years old and their birthday is 27th June 1992. As for Rhaenyra, she's around 32 years old in season 2. In the books, there's nine years between Alicent and Rhaenyra.
How old are Alicent's children?
Despite being just 32 years old in real life, Olivia plays the mother of Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon), who is 31, Ewan Mitchell (Aemond), who is 29, and Phia Saban (Helaena), who is 27 - so there's less than five years between her and her children. Their characters are much younger though. Aegon is 18, Aemond is 16 and Helaena is 17.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Olivia revealed that she didn't know how close in age she would be to Tom, Ewan and Phia when she was cast as Alicent: "When I found out that Tom Glynn-Carney was auditioning for my son, I was like, 'What? Are they gonna recast Alicent again? And do another time jump?"
She added: "It's odd. Is this just Hollywood, do they not want to see women age? It is a big leap for the audience to make."
However, she also said: "I love them with all my heart. I feel spiritually me and Tom are related."
Responding to the criticism surrounding her age and her casting with The Times in 2024, Olivia stated: "I have really complicated feelings towards it. If they can create dragons, they could have made me look younger – and then older. Or maybe they should have cast actors in their forties?"
She added: "It’s happened now and I’m grateful for the role, but I’ve just turned 30 and I’m playing a grandma. There is a real reticence to see women age on screen. A real reticence."
Read more House of the Dragon news here:
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- House of the Dragon cast confirm they played Rhaenyra and Alicent as queer
- Olivia Cooke says trolling from House of the Dragon fans left her depressed
- House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock says her sudden fame “f---ing sucks”
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