Things aren't easy for a female royal in Westeros, and Olivia Cooke's Alicent Hightower knows this better than many. While acting isn't necessarily quite as dangerous as the machinations in the "Game of Thrones" universe, Cooke herself hasn't always had an easy time, either. In an interview with The Guardian, she revealed that she has struggled with her mental health, and though she attempted to work through the depression, things caught up with her in 2016 when she was shooting A&E's "Bates Motel."
"I'm so grateful for that job, but I had a really tough time on it," Cooke described the experience. "The way the schedule worked, we all had different storylines, so a lot of my time was spent in this apartment in Vancouver, working once every two weeks." Eventually, things culminated in what she describes as a mental breakdown. "It was bad, bad," she said. "Awful, actually."
Cooke says it wasn't until 2019 that she finally started to feel better for longer stretches of time. Though she still continues to actively work through her issues, she has found a path to better mental health over the years.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
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