House of the Dragon star says ‘animalistic’ sex scene was cut: ‘It was messy as f***’

House of the Dragon is back for season two, and Olivia Cooke has revealed that her “animalistic” sex scene was cut from the show.

Warning: House of the Dragon season two spoilers ahead.

Cooke portrays Queen Alicient Hightower and has revealed that she was involved in a “carnal” sex scene which was ultimately cut from the series.

At just 14 years old, Alicent was forced to marry her former best friend Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Arcy) father, the years older King Viserys I (Paddy Considine). 

In season two, Alicient and Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) start a secret affair, having shared a steamy scene.

In an interview with Elle Magazine, the star looked back on a cut bedroom scene. “It was messy as f***. It wasn’t beautiful, and that was really fun to do.”

Cooke then addressed the reason why the scene was removed from the fantasy show, explaining that the scene wasn’t adding to the characters’ story. 

“I think Ryan [Condal, the showrunner] said we weren’t learning any more about the characters, which I disagree with slightly, but it’s okay. It’s his show,” she said. 

The actress initially prepared herself for more sex scenes on the show, given the original series Game of Thrones’ penchant for nudity. “I thought there’d be way more,” she admitted to the outlet.

Cooke continued: “I’m so relieved that when [sex scenes have] been used for me, it’s showing Alicent being pleasured, which is amazing and doesn’t feel gratuitous. 

“It feels like we’re telling a story.”

Showrunner Condal explained that their relationship is a “brand new” one, telling Collider: “The idea is that these two characters have this very stunted emotional development, particularly in the world of intimacy with a partner.

“Certainly, she was physically intimate with Viserys, but I don’t know that they had a romantically intimate or emotionally intimate experience just because of the huge age gap between them.

“It’s led us to this place where you see these two characters who don’t experience a lot of pleasure, experiencing great pleasure together.”

House of the Dragon season two is available to stream now on Max, Sky and Now, with new episodes released weekly.