"Made him cry!": Olivia Cooke recalls this House of the Dragon Season 2 filming incident where she "had to slap Tom Glynn-Carney"

There have been many powerful performances in House of the Dragon Season 2, but Olivia Cooke recently shared one behind-the-scenes moment that really stood out, and it wasn't staged! When they were filming that scene, the actor who portrayed King Aegon II, Tom Glynn-Carney, instructed her to slap him for real. The scene was a confrontation between Alicent Hightower and her son Aegon, and the result was so forceful that it left both actors in shock.

That scene's unadulterated energy is still recalled as one of the most genuine on-set experiences. As per Screenrant, Cooke said,

"I had to slap Tom Glynn-Carney 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!"

She added,

"I don’t know my own strength! It was a slap that resonated across the land! It made him cry!"

This slap actually stung and rattled both actors up in quite different ways. Cooke continued,

"But I felt awful. It was hideous. I’ve always felt sick and wanted to cry after doing any stunt work like that."

Her comments graphically outline how a single incident, done in the interest of dramatic realism, can snowball into a persistent emotional memory for the actors.

Why the slap actually happened in Season 2 of House of the Dragon

Unlike most fight scenes that rely on smart stunts and fantasy camera work, this was done through real contact. Cooke says it was staged by Glynn-Carney himself, who instructed her to hit him instead of faking it. The stunt coordinator okayed it, and Cooke slapped him. She now described it bluntly, saying, "I walloped him."

Making the slap real was not a decision to improvise but one made to capture the rawest possible reaction on screen. The goal was to raise the emotional stakes so that the audience would feel the sting as much as the characters.

Cooke's emotional turmoil regarding the slap in Season 2 of House of the Dragon

Reality set in for Cooke later. Although the scene worked, she has been frank about how totally uncomfortable moments like that make her. "It was hideous," she confessed, admitting to feeling both shame and guilt afterwards. This is consistent with her broader statements of loathing stunt work in general, where physicality lingers long after the shoot is over.

It was not just Glynn-Carney who was disturbed by the scene; the situation unsettled Cooke with the morality of actual violence on set, even though it was staged and agreed upon.

Not improvised, but intensely real

It's worth noting that this was not some thoughtless improv. The slap was rehearsed, scripted, and safety-approved. It was the decision to remove the "stage" from stage combat by having Cooke's hand actually touch him that truly made the moment work.

Such a decision is a rarity but not an unusual occurrence in film and television, where actors sometimes use actual punches or slaps for that extra bit of realism. The result was visceral realism. The viewer saw a battle that appeared and was agonizingly real.

Professionalism behind the scenes of House of the Dragon Season 2

However, it's also a moment that communicates the professionalism of everyone involved. The stunt team was spoken to, the choice was made in moderation, and the scene was filmed safely. Both actors received aftercare subsequently, even as Cooke confessed to her continued guilt.

It's a sign that even conscientiously rehearsed stunt work is emotionally taxing, especially where physical contact is real.

Audience and critical response to House of the Dragon Season 2

For the audience, the fact that the slap was real only heightens the drama of House of the Dragon's off-screen controversy. Critics have pointed out that it is representative of the show's broader themes, where family dynamics are tense due to violence and power. The fact of the slap generates on-screen tension between Alicent and Aegon as much as anything.

Others have compared it to archetypal "real hits" of film history, Leonardo DiCaprio's glass-cutting sequence in Django Unchained, for example, instances in which reality invades performance and imprints itself.

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The slap is now a small but powerful piece of House of the Dragon history. For Cooke, a time of personal embarrassment; for Glynn-Carney, evidence of dedication to realism; and for audiences, an aspect that enhances their involvement in politics, Targaryen.

Also read: House of The Dragon Season 2 Episode 7: Release Date, Time & Where to watch

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