Olivia Cooke has been having some fairly main success in tv these days. The 31-year-old British actor has been taking part in Alicent Hightower within the hit Sport of Thrones prequel Home of the Dragon on HBO since 2022. This fall, audiences can discover her starring within the title position for Amazon’s thrilling new miniseries The Girlfriend reverse Robin Wright (Right here) and Laurie Davidson (Mary & George). Cooke has lots going for her and was declared “TV’s Newest It Brit” in a function revealed by The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month.
When you check out Cooke’s profession, nonetheless, you will see that she is not any stranger to tv or a very good psychological thriller. Cooke made her TV debut in 2012 and has labored on some thrilling initiatives since then. She’s appeared in fairly a couple of horror films in addition to some extremely transferring dramas. There’s one thing about Cooke, maybe in her eyes or the alternatives she makes in a efficiency, that makes her extremely adept in terms of taking part in characters with difficult psychological profiles.
Listed here are 8 thrillers that includes The Girlfriend star and new “it” lady Olivia Cooke.
‘Blackout’ (2012)
Cooke made her tv debut within the BBC One motion thriller Blackout. This three-part sequence was created by Invoice Gallagher, who would go on to make reveals like Jamestown, Paranoid, and The Paradise. Tom Inexperienced (Misfits) directed all three episodes and Christopher Eccleston (The Leftovers) stars as corrupt council official Daniel Demoys, who awakens from an alcohol-induced blackout suspecting that he may need killed somebody.
Meg Demoys
The supporting solid options Dervla Kirwan (Smother), Oliver Woollford (Keep Shut), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Karl Collins (Culprits), and Andrew Scott (Ripley). Cooke performs Daniel’s daughter, Meg. Whereas critics weren’t utterly bought on each side of Blackout, they praised the performances and the cinematography. Blackout received Greatest Cinematography in a Tv Drama from the British Society of Cinematographers and Greatest Pictures from the Royal Tv Society. It additionally scored a BAFTA nomination for Pictures and Lighting.
‘The Secret of Crickley Corridor’ (2012)
The Secret of Crickley Corridor is a BBC One restricted sequence that may be discovered streaming nearly wherever. The three-part supernatural thriller was written and directed by Joe Ahearne (The Substitute), based mostly on the 2006 novel of the identical title by James Herbert. The story follows two timelines. The primary is about in 2006, the place the Caleigh household has lately rented Crickley Corridor. The second timeline goes again to the Nineteen Forties, when orphans reside at Crickley Corridor after being evacuated from London throughout World Battle II. Half thriller and half ghost story, the sequence stars Suranne Jones (Vigil) and Tom Ellis (Lucifer) as Eve and Gabe Caleigh.
Nancy Linnet
Olivia Cooke could be discovered within the Nineteen Forties timeline trying afte the kids as trainer Nancy Linnet. She’s not the one future HBO star on this sequence both. Maisie Williams seems as Eve and Gabe’s daughter, Loren, across the identical time she was changing into a fan favourite as Arya Stark in Sport of Thrones. Different Crickley Corridor solid members embrace Douglas Henshall (Shetland), Sarah Sensible (The Musketeers), Iain De Caestecker (Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Pixie Davies (Mary Poppins Returns), and David Warner (Titanic). The Secret of Crickley Corridor has a 76% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Bare Singularity’ (2021)
Bare Singularity is a darkish comedy crime thriller that marks the directorial debut of Chase Palmer, who additionally wrote the screenplay with David Matthews (Them). It’s based mostly on Sergio De La Pava’s debut novel, A Bare Singularity, which was initially self-published in 2008 and reprinted commercially in 2012. John Boyega (Star Wars) stars as Casi, a 26-year-old public defender fed up with the established order. Then, at some point, he decides to rob one in all his purchasers.
Lea Deleon
Cooke performs Lea Deleon, a clerk on the impound lot the place a automobile full of medicine is about to be auctioned off. The solid additionally contains Invoice Skarsgård (It), Ed Skrein (Jurassic World Rebirth), Kyle Mooney (Saturday Evening Dwell), and Tim Blake Nelson (The Lowdown). Bare Singularity premiered on the San Francisco Worldwide Movie Competition, the place it received the Viewers Award for Greatest Narrative Function. Chase Palmer was additionally named Director to Watch on the Palm Springs Worldwide Movie Competition. Regardless of a powerful begin, the film did not get nice opinions — although Boyega and different members of the solid had been credited with giving sturdy performances.
‘The Limehouse Golem’ (2016)
The Limehouse Golem is a good automobile for Olivia Cooke, and she or he performs her position to perfection. Primarily based on the 1994 novel Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd, this era piece is a component horror film, half Victorian thriller, and all thriller. Invoice Nighy (Residing) stars as Inspector John Kildare, who’s investigating a string of murders within the Limehouse district and has narrowed his listing of suspects to 4 names.
Elizabeth Cree
This investigation leads him to music corridor star Elizabeth Cree (Cooke), who’s imprisoned below suspicion of murdering her husband. This makes issues difficult for Inspectator Kildare, who suspects that Elizabeth’s husband, John (Sam Reid), may need been the serial killer he was searching. With Elizabeth’s execution looming on the horizon, Kildare should work quick to resolve the case. The Limehouse Golem premiered on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition, receiving favorable opinions total. It was nominated for Greatest Drama and Greatest Actor Invoice Nighy on the UK’s Nationwide Movie Awards. It’s licensed recent with a 74% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Pixie’ (2020)
Pixie is a comedic thriller directed by Barnaby Thompson (Mad Concerning the Boy: The Noël Coward Story) with a screenplay by Preston Thompson (Children in Love). Set towards the backdrop of Eire’s prison underworld, Pixie follows three new pals who discover themselves in possession of fifteen kilos of MDMA and a lifeless physique. The solid options Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody), Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande), Rory Fleck Byrne (Harlots), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), and Colm Meaney (Convey Them Down).
Pixie
Olivia Cooke stars within the title position as a part of the trio that finds the medication and embarks on a quest for survival and self-discovery. She shines as this character, too. “Olivia Cooke is purpose sufficient to observe Pixie,” notes the Chicago Reader. “When you’ve but to be mesmerized by her appearing chops…right here’s your likelihood.” Colm Meaney acquired a Greatest Supporting Actor nomination on the Irish Movie and Tv Awards for taking part in Pixie’s stepfather and native gangster, Dermot O’Brien. The film is licensed recent on Rotten Tomatoes with a 76% score from critics.
‘Gradual Horses’ (2022)
Gradual Horses is a British spy thriller based mostly on Mick Herron’s Slough Home novel sequence. The Apple TV+ drama was created by The Thick of It author Will Smith (to not be confused with the American actor Will Smith). Slough Home is a department of MI5 the place brokers who’ve made severe errors within the discipline are transferred as punishment. Gary Oldman (Oppenheimer) stars as impolite and off-putting Jackson Lamb, who’s in control of Slough Home, reverse Jack Lowden (Dunkirk) as River Cartwright, a promising agent new to Slough Home after messing up a coaching train.
Sidonie “Sid” Baker
Cooke performs MI5 agent Sidonie “Sid” Baker in Season 1. Baker’s a succesful and likable agent and so it’s initially unclear as to how she ended up at Slough Home. Gradual Horses is at present in its fifth season and has been doing effectively over time. The sequence has earned 17 BAFTA nominations, successful 4 of them. It acquired 4 Golden Globe nominations over the previous two seasons and in 2025, it received the Satellite tv for pc Award for Greatest Telecision Sequence (Drama). The present has a 96% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Bates Motel’ (2013 – 2017)
Bates Motel is a good psychological horror sequence that aired on A&E for 5 seasons between 2013 and 2017. It’s based mostly on the 1959 Robert Bloch novel Psycho, which famously served as inspiration for the basic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film of the identical title starring Anthony Perkins. Bates Motel features as a prequel, exploring the lives of Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mom Norma (Vera Farmiga) earlier than the occasions of the e-book and movie happen. The solid contains Max Thieriot (Hearth Nation), Nicola Peltz (Lola), Kenny Johnson (Mayor of Kingstown), and Nestor Carbonell (The Morning Present).
Emma Decody
Cooke seems in all 5 seasons as Norman’s finest good friend, Emma Decody. She identifies with Norman’s outsider persona and enjoys spending time with him. Because the seasons proceed, nonetheless, she begins to develop pissed off with Norman’s mysterious habits. Bates Motel was effectively acquired, changing into probably the most outstanding up to date scripted reveals on A&E. It scored three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and two Satellite tv for pc Award nominations. It acquired three Individuals’s Selection Award nominations, successful Favourite Cable TV Drama in 2017. Bates Motel is licensed recent with a 93% score from critics and a 91% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Thoroughbreds’ (2017)
Cory Finley (Panorama with Invisible Hand) made his directorial debut writing and directing this darkish comedic thriller. Thoroughbreds follows the friendship between rich Connecticut college students Lily (Anya Taylor-Pleasure) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke) as they plot to homicide Lily’s stepfather (Paul Sparks). To do that, they enlist the assistance of a drug supplier named Tim (Anton Yelchin). Lily is extremely studious, whereas Amanda is one thing of an outsider who would not suppose she is incapable of feeling feelings like different folks do.
Amanda
Cooke provides the most effective performances of her profession as Amanda. The movie premiered on the Sundance Movie Competition, the place it was nominated for the Better of Subsequent! Viewers Award. Den of Geek calls Cooke a “revelation” within the position of Amanda, providing “a flip completely in contrast to something now we have seen from the younger actor but.” Usually in comparison with Heathers, Thoroughbreds is an interesting character research that hits all the fitting notes. It’s licensed recent on Rotten Tomatoes with an 87% score from critics, which is fairly spectacular contemplating that the film’s distinctive vibe may not attraction to everybody. When you like Olivia Cooke, nonetheless, you do not wish to miss this film.

- Launch Date
-
September 10, 2025
- Community
-
Prime Video