“Jesus Christ, you can just smell the wealth when you walk around,” Olivia Cooke laughs. She’s telling me about her latest series, The Girlfriend, which was filmed in some of London’s most affluent neighborhoods. “Every house is just so manicured and beautiful. It doesn’t feel quite real,” she says.
The Girlfriend follows the glittering life of Laura, played by Robin Wright (who also directed the series), an immensely successful woman whose career, home, and family life all seem perfect—until her son brings home his new girlfriend, Cherry (Olivia Cooke), and things begin to unravel. It’s thrilling, gripping, and filled with exhilarating twists and turns.
“I read the first three scripts initially, and then I met with Robin—I think she’s formidable. I’ve always been such a fan of hers,” Olivia explains how she first got involved in the project. “I think she’s a brilliant actress and just has such an intense, powerful presence. I also really wanted to be directed by her—I think the direction that she gave in Ozark and House of Cards was brilliant, so it was just a bit of a no-brainer.”
The Girlfriend is based on Michelle Frances’ 2017 novel, and it takes us behind the pristine facades of the capital’s most impressive mansions. “We started off in this incredible house in St. John’s Wood; this beautiful townhouse right around the corner from Abbey Road,” Olivia says. “I mean, it’s just how the other half live, isn’t it? We spent six weeks there, so you start to fantasize about things like, what you would do with the bedrooms? How many times a week you would use the pool? Would you have a sauna every day?”
“It really helps to sell the world that Laura lives in—she is an art gallerist and dealer,” Olivia explains. “She has just got impeccable taste, so every corner of her house, and her life, is so well thought out. I think you can really feel that by watching the show. So you can see how it must be so nerve wracking for Cherry walking in for the first time, because she’s walking into this 20 million pound house, which is just so opulent, and there’s no quick escape route, because it’s so maze-like and vast.”
