HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Star Olivia Cooke Looks Back on STAR WARS Rey Audition: “I Was S—. I Was Really Bad.”

Before she was navigating the political chaos of Westeros in House of the Dragon, Olivia Cooketook a shot at landing one of the biggest roles in modern blockbuster history.

During a recent conversation with Josh Horowitz, the actress reflected on her past experiences auditioning for Star Wars, clearing up a long-running rumor and sharing a surprisingly honest assessment of her attempt to play Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Horowitz brought up reports that Cooke had once auditioned for Rose Tico, the character eventually played by Kelly Marie Tran in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and later Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. According to Cooke, that story doesn’t sound right.

The actress explained that she doesn’t believe she ever auditioned for that role and suggested the rumor may have originated elsewhere, joking that perhaps an agent floated the story in hopes of making some money.

What she did remember was auditioning for Rey, the lead character who ultimately became one of the central figures of Disney’s sequel trilogy. Cooke revealed that she auditioned for the role more than once, including a meeting in Los Angeles and another audition with The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams.

Looking back on the experience, Cooke didn’t sugarcoat how she felt about her performance. “I was s—. I was really bad,” the actress reflected on her performance.

“You know when you go into an audition, and you’re just not bringing it. You’ve let yourself and everyone down in the room. Daisy did such an amazing job. I just wasn’t that kind of an actor at that time. You know, it wasn’t a fit.”

Of course, things worked out just fine for everyone involved. Daisy Ridley went on to define the character across three films, while Cooke carved out an impressive career of her own.

Since those Star Wars auditions, Cooke has built a résumé packed with standout performances. She starred in Ready Player One as Art3mis/Samantha under director Steven Spielberg, and has also appeared in Bates Motel, Sound of Metal, Vanity Fair, and Slow Horses.

More recently, she has become a fan-favorite as Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon, a role that has put her at the center of one of television’s biggest fantasy dramas.

It's always interesting to hear about the alternate casting choices that almost happened. Imagining Cooke as Rey is certainly an interesting what-if for Star Wars fans, but even she seems perfectly aware that the role found the right actor in Ridley.

Meanwhile, Cooke has plenty to keep her busy in Westeros. House of the Dragon Season 3 premiered earlier this week, and the first episode is currently available to stream on HBO Max.