Shocking age difference between Olivia Cooke and her onscreen children stuns House of the Dragon fans

The cast of House of the Dragon is so fantastic that none of us noticed how Olivia Cooke is just a year older than her on-screen son Tom Glynn-Carney. 29-year-old Cooke has indeed proved that she is wise beyond her years with her portrayal of Alicent Hightower as she plays mother to 28-year-old Tom Glynn-Carney, 26-year-old Ewan Mitchell, and 24-year-old Phia Saban. Throughout season 1 of House of the Dragon, the kid’s cast has changed thrice, whereas Alicent has changed just once. But the styling department has done a fantastic job making her look the part.

how old are these house of the dragon characters supposed to be because olivia cooke is my age and her character has three kids who also look my age

— k 🧝🏼‍♀️ (@kianadromeda) October 18, 2022

okay but.. 29 years old olivia cooke playing a mother of three people in their 20s (28yo tom glynn-carney, 26yo ewan mitchell and 24 yo phia saban) https://t.co/hJaoSUumxM pic.twitter.com/05OOp4fqc8

— 💭 (@thinkercooke) June 7, 2023

How old are the characters in House of the Dragon Season 1?

At this point in the official timeline, Aegon II Targaryen, played by Tom Glynn-Carney, is 20. Although we have zero complaints about any of the actor’s performances, believing Olivia could be a mother to a young adult is still a little tough to digest, much less a 28-year-old. According to the book, Alicent should be around 35, but the show aged up the female characters to make them more legally compatible with their love interests, so she should be about 38 now. So essentially, Cooke is playing a character a decade older than her.

So, they skewed it in both directions. Olivia Cooke is around 7 years too young, and all the actors for her kids are about 5-7 years too old. Neither is that much by itself, but together, it erases the age gap between them.

— Paul Ewenstein (@RevolutionandIR) June 8, 2023

Several viewers were taken aback by Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen, who is supposed to be around 17 years old. He looks much older than his on-screen older brother Aegon and his mom Alicent. Although Ewan nails everything as Aemond Targaryen, he is just not believable as a teenager or a young adult, especially with the scar and eye patch. Phia Saban is the only one who pulls off her character’s age, but just barely.

ewan mitchell was miscast for the current green lineup cause he looks ten years older than tom glynn-carey and around the same age as olivia cooke when he is in costume https://t.co/qH85qkGvoR

— frankenstein’s monster apologist✨ (@maryswraith) January 21, 2023

This man looks same age/older than olivia cooke and he’s playing her son ?? pic.twitter.com/qIWEa1QTX3

— L (@divine7eminine) September 28, 2022

Rather than just her physical appearance, Olivia Cooke reflects her character’s age by beautifully portraying her emotional distress because if you have seen the show, you know there is barely a moment of happiness for her character. And in classic Game of Thrones style, it is only going to get worse for all our beloved characters, and we’ll forget all about their ages.

the one year age gap between olivia cooke and tgc is crazy 😭

— wonder ?? (@wondersfilm) April 12, 2023

What do you think of this casting choice? Do you believe Tom, Ewan, and Phia are too old, or is Olivia too young? Let us know on our discord server.

Read Next: “He is desperate to be loved but destined to be hated”- Tom Glynn-Carney on Aegon II