House Of The Dragon's Olivia Cooke Reveals How She Really Felt About Becoming A Meme

It’s the meme that we all couldn’t stop quoting at the time, but House Of The Dragon star Olivia Cooke has admitted that she has mixed feelings about that viral “Negroni Sbagliato” moment.

Back in October 2022, Olivia joined her co-star Emma D’Arcy for a light hearted chat to promote the Game Of Thrones spin-off, in which she asked the Rhaenyra Targaryen actor what their “drink of choice” was.

Emma’s answer – “a negroni sbagliato, with prosecco in it” – and the rather sensual way in which they pronounced it, meant that the moment was instant meme material.

But it was also Olivia’s response that also entertained viewers, when she simply replied that Emma’s bev of choice was “stunnin’” in her strong Manchester accent.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Olivia explained that she and her co-star were “just trying to make each other laugh” in the moment.

But her part in the meme-making left her feeling a bit more conflicted.

“I did hate it for a very long time,” she said. “I was in the pub. A woman opened the door for me and she said with a thick Spanish accent, ‘Stunnin’!′ I was just like, ‘Oh my God. Over a decade’s worth of work reduced to a single word in my lexicon.’”

Emma also offered their latest take on the viral moment, sharing: “I don’t have anything illuminating to say on it because it’s very hard to know how to react when you become a meme.”

They did previously admit to finding the whole thing a tad embarrassing.

“I keep thinking I should tell my mum that I’ve become a meme in the hope that she’ll be happy for me,” they joked to the New York Times a couple years back. “But I’d have to explain what a meme is, and I’ve decided it’s too much effort.”

Emma added: “I feel so embarrassed. Because in those interviews, when we’ve been at it for six hours, I’m honestly only trying to make Olivia laugh.”

House Of The Dragon – the prequel set two centuries earlier than the events of the original hit HBO series – returns for a second season on 17 June on Sky Atlantic and Now.

The first series was generally well-received by devoted fans of the original, though there were some divided opinions over the graphic nature of some of its content.