Olivia Cooke reveals her Rey audition for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ was ‘really bad’

The actress said she attended multiple casting sessions before accepting the role simply was not right

Before becoming Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon, Olivia Cooke once tried to join another huge fantasy franchise.

During an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Cooke addressed long standing speculation surrounding her connection to the Star Wars universe. While rumours had previously suggested she had been considered for Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the actress clarified that those reports were inaccurate.

Instead, Cooke revealed that she had auditioned several times for Rey in J J Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the character that eventually launched Daisy Ridley’s career.

“I did audition a few times for the other one, where Daisy Ridley got it,” Cooke said. “But everyone and their dog auditioned for that.”

According to Cooke, the experience was far from one of her strongest moments. She recalled attending an audition in Los Angeles before later reading with Abrams himself. Looking back, she admitted she was disappointed with her own performance.

“I was really bad,” Cooke said. “You know when you go into an audition, and you’re just not bringing it and you’ve let yourself down, you’ve let everyone down in the room?”

Despite her self-criticism, Cooke praised Ridley and said the role ultimately went to the right person. She explained that she simply was not the type of actor required for the character at that stage of her career.

“Daisy did such an amazing job; I just wasn’t that kind of an actor at that time. It just wasn’t a fit,” she said.

Ridley debuted as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015 and continued portraying the character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Her performance helped establish Rey as one of the defining figures of the modern era of the franchise.

Cooke’s career also flourished after the missed opportunity. Following the audition process, she appeared in acclaimed projects including Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One and the Oscar nominated drama Sound of Metal.

She later secured one of television’s biggest roles as Alicent Hightower in HBO’s House of the Dragon. The fantasy drama is currently airing its third season, with a fourth and final season expected in 2028.

Although she missed out on becoming a Jedi, Cooke’s candid comments showed she has no regrets and recognises that some roles are simply meant for someone else.