Olivia Cooke has opened up about feeling “intimidated” working alongside director Steven Spielberg on the 2018 sci-fi blockbuster Ready Player One, crediting his extraordinary multitasking ability as the source of that awe. The House of the Dragon star, now 32, described the experience as unlike anything she had encountered before in her career.

Watching a Master at Work

Speaking to The Telegraph, Cooke recalled being transfixed by Spielberg’s capacity to run parallel creative processes simultaneously. “Watching how his mind worked. He’s a genius. He would be in post-production on the film he’d just finished, with an editing suite set up to the side of the set, so between set-ups he’d go and do some editing, then come back and direct us,” she said.

Cooke noted that Ready Player One presented a uniquely complex challenge, with Spielberg effectively steering two parallel narratives — a virtual simulation world and the real world — at once. “He’d be making up new sequences on the spot for us to improvise in motion-capture suits, while also working out how they would cut with real-life reactions we’d already shot,” she explained. “I thought, I don’t understand how you do this. He was intimidating because he’s such a genius, but he was also so lovely.”

Audition Circuit Rivalries

Cooke also shared a candid anecdote from her early career, recalling a recurring competitor she faced during auditions in Los Angeles when she was around 18 to 20 years old. Without naming the actress, she described a pattern of deliberate psychological games in waiting rooms.

“She used to make it her mission to psych me out. She’d be looking at me, then doing yoga and stretches on the floor, then performatively reading her lines,” Cooke said. On one occasion, the rival emerged from an audition — having secured the role — and “wiped away a tear” in front of Cooke, a gesture she described as “so over the top.” She added that after repeated encounters, she “almost became excited to see what she’d do next.”

The Burden of Celebrity Scrutiny

Beyond the craft, Cooke spoke candidly about the parts of fame she finds hardest to navigate. She said the public gaze — particularly the scrutiny directed at women — weighs on her. “The scrutiny is hard, especially the scrutiny on women – on our bodies, ageing, sex appeal. I’m just trying to tell a story and make a good film that people hopefully enjoy,” she said.

Cooke revealed she actively minimises her press commitments, regularly asking her publicist for the least amount of media exposure possible. “The celebrity side of the industry has become much more public, and I find that difficult,” she said, adding that she is uncomfortable with the growing expectation that an actor’s public profile influences their employability. “I don’t want to subscribe to that at all,” she said.

What This Reflects About the Industry

Cooke’s remarks arrive as conversations around the celebrity-industrial complex in Hollywood continue to intensify, with several actors pushing back against the press-cycle demands that now accompany major releases. Her candour about the psychological pressures of auditions and the gendered nature of public scrutiny adds a grounded voice to an ongoing industry-wide debate.