Olivia Cooke says an 'animalistic' sex scene was cut from “House of the Dragon”: 'It was messy as f---'

Showrunner Ryan Condal axed the scene because it didn't reveal anything new about the characters.

House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke is mourning a messy moment for her Team Green matriarch, Alicent Hightower.

In a new Elle interview, the actress revealed that a spicy sex scene she filmed for the Game of Thrones prequel series was left on the cutting room floor — much to her chagrin.

"It was messy as f---," Cooke said. "It wasn't beautiful, and that was really fun to do."

Describing the bedroom scene as "carnal" and "animalistic," she explained that showrunner Ryan Condal axed it because he thought "we weren't learning any more about the characters." While Cooke might disagree, it seems there are no hard feelings: "It's okay. It's his show."

Related: House of the Dragon season 2 comes with new opening titles sequence

Of course, those who watched the season 2 premiere of House of the Dragon know that Alicent still had plenty of opportunity to explore her carnal impulses, thanks to some assistance from Fabien Frankel's Criston Cole. As for the remaining racy moments, Cooke was more than happy with how they fit into Alicent's arc.

"I thought there'd be way more, and so I'm relieved that when it has been used for me, it's showing Alicent being pleasured, which is amazing and doesn't feel gratuitous," she said. "It feels like we're telling a story."

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Compared to its predecessor, House of the Dragon has toned down the amount of sex scenes, especially when it comes to sexual violence. Ahead of the season 1 premiere, co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik raised eyebrows when he told the Hollywood Reporter that the show would not "shy away" from sexual violence, but executive producer Sara Hess later clarified to Vanity Fair that HOTD would not "depict sexual violence" but would still explore the fact that "violence against women that is inherent in a patriarchal system."

As for Alicent, relationships will be a key aspect of this latest chapter of the Dance of the Dragons conflict.

"Who can she trust? There's no one around her," Cooke mused to Entertainment Weekly for a House of the Dragon cover story. "All of a sudden she's of no use to anyone. She's done what she was supposed to do — put her son on the throne — and now she's discarded. Who is she if she can't be the person to implement wisdom?"

Related: Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke slay the House down in EW's House of the Dragon cover shoot

On the bright side, being sidelined does offer Alicent a certain measure of freedom. "Oh, I could do whatever the f--- I want and no one cares. All of a sudden I'm not important. I'm not a player," Cooke said of Alicent's perspective. "In a very giddy way, that's really novel and exciting."

New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.