Even Olivia Cooke can’t deny the resemblance between Alicent Hightower and Princess Fiona.
Fans of both House of the Dragon and DreamWorks’ Shrekhave long pointed out the similarities between Cooke’s character and the cursed princess before her ogre transformation.
Now, even Cooke’s costar Fabien Frankel, who plays Ser Criston Cole, has joined in on the joke. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight alongside Cooke, he admitted, “I always think [Alicent] looks like Fiona in Shrek.”
“Thanks?” Cooke replied, unamused.
Frankel quickly clarified that he meant it as a compliment, pointing to the pair’s similar “colour scheme,” including “the green dress.”
“For sure,” Cooke agreed, adding that they also share the same “red hair.”
Frankel then flipped the question, asking who Cooke thought would be Shrek in the Game of Thrones universe.
“You,” she shot back without missing a beat.
The playful exchange comes as their characters are now on opposite sides of the conflict in House of the Dragon. After their controversial affair in Season 1, Alicent and Criston find themselves on very different paths in last Sunday’s Season 3, Episode 2.
While Alicent secretly tries to help Rhaenyra Targaryen reclaim King’s Landing, Criston marches toward Harrenhal to support Aemond and Vhagar. Alicent’s mission ends in disaster when she’s captured and brought before Rhaenyra, who now sits on the Iron Throne after personally beheading Alicent’s father, Otto Hightower.
Cooke told ETthe moment felt like “the ultimate betrayal” for Alicent, who still didn’t know what had happened to her father after he Criston Cole replaced him as Hand of the King in season 2.
“She is confused as to the whereabouts of her father this whole time. Has Rhaenyra kept him prisoner? Has she used this beheading as her first political act to show her strength? I think it feels like another example of Alicent being a pawn in another person’s game. So it’s like, ‘Eff you. It’s on.’”
2026-07-05 20:57:00
