House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones are known for gruesome deaths and oftentimes violent confrontations; there’s no ifs, ands or buts about that. However, in the case of HOTD, we rarely see Olivia Cooke’s character, Alicent Hightower, partake in said violence. But in a rare moment of rage during Season 1, she confronted her son, the eventual king, Aegon, and slapped him. Now, the actress has opened up about filming that moment, revealing what it was like to actually slap her TV-son and why it made her feel “awful.”
Throwing it back to the Game of Thrones spinoff, Cooke recalled this story to The i Paper during a discussion about her new project on the 2025 TV schedule, The Girlfriend, and her career so far. She explained that before she actually hit Glynn-Carney, it was made clear that he wanted her to really go for it. She said:
I had to slap Tom Glynn-Carney (who played her character’s son, King Aegon) in House of the Dragon. He said: ‘Do it for real!’ I wasn’t sure, but the stunt coordinator told me: ‘It’s fine if he wants you to do it’… and then… I walloped him!
Making an educated guess, it would seem she's referencing what happens in Season 1, Episode 8 (which you can stream with an HBO Max subscription). However, it's worth noting that in Episode 7, she does slap Aegon out of rage after Aemond lost his eye. But Glynn-Carney isn't playing Aegon in that episode; it's a younger actor.
So, going back to Episode 8, Alicent had just found out that Aegon had raped Dyana, and she went to confront him about it. She found him passed out in his bed, and after slapping him, she says, “You are no son of mine.” It’s a harsh moment, and it results in Aegon getting emotional and saying he can never impress his parents.
Cooke explained that when they filmed their scene together, she hit her fellow House of the Dragon cast member so hard, it “made him cry.” While that seemed to be the plan, it shook her up a bit, as she explained:
I don’t know my own strength! It was a slap that resonated across the land! It made him cry! I mean, that was the reaction that he’d wanted for the cameras. But I felt awful. It was hideous. I’ve always felt sick and wanted to cry after doing any stunt work like that.
Back in 2022, Cooke told this story to THR, specifying that it was during Episode 8, and noting that she “just really fucking went for it to the point where it echoed all the way through the hall.” She said she was “completely taken out of the scene” because she was trying not to awkwardly laugh, and noted that they only did one or two takes.
It’s worth noting, you can’t see Alicent’s face in the shot in Episode 8; you only see Aegon’s during the literal slap. However, it cuts to Cooke immediately after as she delivers that heartbreaking “You are no son of mine line.”
Both times Alicent slapped Aegon, I took it as her ragefully trying to slap some sense into him. The end of Season 1 is fraught with tension, as Viserys slowly dies and the origins of the Green vs. Black battle begin to take form. And that battle for the throne and the stress of who will sit in it next plagues everyone, including Alicent.
Truly, the slaps were visceral to watch, and knowing it was visceral to film makes it even more intense. I can’t say I blame Cooke for feeling “awful” about it; hitting someone would not be fun. However, all those feelings certainly added to the moment and helped make this tense scene between mother and son even more emotional.
Now, I’ll be curious to see what kind of intense moments we get when House of the Dragon Season 3 comes out. I’m certain there will be more as the Targaryen war continues, and you better believe we’ll be talking about them as they happen.
