Just because you went to Eton and RADA, it doesn’t make you a better actor than me

OLIVIA COOKE refuses to be defined by class. In fact, the Bates Motel star would like to see elitism – within the entertainment industry, for one – eradicated completely, stating it simply “makes people feel uncomfortable”.

“There’s even a class structure on a film set,” she says, exasperated. “The actors, directors, producers, the crew, catering... it’s all a big weird hierarchy. It’s just bizarre,” she reasons.

“People are like, ‘Oh I don’t know if I can talk to you because you’re an actor’. And you’re like, ‘What are you talking about?’

“But I think, in terms of coming from Manchester and being an untrained (actor), there’s a certain apologetic-ness that you have, initially. But it’s just an armour that you put on,” admits Olivia, 24.

“No, I’m not trained; no, I don’t know Shakespeare’s whole body of work, and I can’t recite bloody Act 1: Scene 14 for you,” she quips with a smile.

But the bubbly Mancunian – an alumni of Oldham Theatre Workshop – isn’t done there.

“Just because you have a famous dad or your mum was a director, or you went to Eton, and then RADA, and then Hollywood, it doesn’t make you a better actor than me.

“I mean we’re all doing this, and everyone’s got a different trajectory, but I do think my life and the possible hardships that I’ve faced there, and being from the North, has given me tools to be able to relate to a lot of characters.

“I’m good at accents and I can say the lines and I can hit my mark!” she concludes, finishing with a: “So, I just went on a rant!”

But if anyone has earned the right to a good old rant, it’s Olivia. It’s fair to say, through her own sheer talent and tenacity, Olivia has elevated her career to new heights – the pinnacle so far being a lead role in Steven Spielberg’s VR adventure movie, Ready Player One.

Olivia played High Five member Art3mis, aka Samantha, in the big-screen epic released earlier this year – a life-changing commitment that she says will see her tied to the sci-fi phenomenon for the foreseeable.

“I mean, I’ve signed my life away, so I’m contracted to sequels,” she says, when pushed on the prospect of a follow-up. “But, I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything, so we’ll see.

“I don’t even think there’s a Ready Player 2 book? I don’t know if you’d want to write that first.”

That said, there’s plenty on the table to be getting on with. Next up, Olivia will play the lead in the new