“Jesus Christ, you can just smell the wealth when you walk around,” Olivia Cooke laughs. She’s telling me about her newest sequence, The Girlfriend, which was filmed in a few of London’s most prosperous neighborhoods. “Every house is just so manicured and beautiful. It doesn’t feel quite real,” she says.
The Girlfriend follows the glittering lifetime of Laura, performed by Robin Wright (who additionally directed the sequence), an immensely profitable lady whose profession, house, and household life all appear excellent—till her son brings house his new girlfriend, Cherry (Olivia Cooke), and issues start to unravel. It’s thrilling, gripping, and full of 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 obtained concerned in the undertaking. “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 relies on Michelle Frances’ 2017 novel, and it takes us behind the pristine facades of the capital’s most spectacular 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.”