At the same time, he developed a drinking problem, and a reputation for unreliability inevitably followed.
A binge drinker, Cooke would abandon his duties for weeks at a time, often spending whatever money he had in the process.
Shortly after his first triumph in Dublin, he disappeared from the stage for over a year.
At some point in 1795, he had enlisted in the British Army, in a regiment due for deployment to the Caribbean.
He was extricated from the military by the efforts of theatre owners in Manchester and Portsmouth, and he returned to Dublin in 1796.

In 1801, he appeared at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden as Richard III; this role would become his most famous.
That year he also played Shylock (The Merchant of Venice), Iago (Othello), Macbeth,  Kitely (Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour), and Giles Overreach, and became the rival of Kemble, with whom, however, and with Mrs. Siddons, he acted from 1803.
In 1802 he added roles in Edward Moore's The Gamester and Charles Macklin's Man of the World.

After Kemble and Siddons came to Covent Garden in 1803, the rivalry between the two actors unfolded on one stage instead of two.
Fittingly, they debuted in Richard III, though Kemble played the title role and Cooke Richmond.
Shortly later they acted in John Home's Douglas: Cooke played Glenalvon to Kemble's Old Norval, and Siddons was Lady Randolph.
Washington Irving records seeing the group in Othello (Cooke was Iago, and Charles Kemble was Cassio); he called the performance delightful.

For the next decade, Cooke was an erratic star in London.
Already a confirmed alcoholic when he arrived, he grew steadily less reliable as his career progressed.
Already in 1801, he was unable to perform because he was drunk; such failures became more frequent in later years.
In 1807, after failing to appear for his summer season in Manchester, he was jailed in Westmorland for several months.
In the last years of the decade, he managed to curb his excesses to some extent; he was, for instance, frequently on stage during the Old Price riots.
At the same time, he developed a drinking problem, and a reputation for unreliability inevitably followed. A binge drinker, Cooke would abandon his duties for weeks at a time, often spending whatever money he had in the process. Shortly after his first triumph in Dublin, he disappeared from the stage for over a year. At some point in 1795, he had enlisted in the British Army, in a regiment due for deployment to the Caribbean. He was extricated from the military by the efforts of theatre owners in Manchester and Portsmouth, and he returned to Dublin in 1796.
In 1801, he appeared at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden as Richard III; this role would become his most famous. That year he also played Shylock (The Merchant of Venice), Iago (Othello), Macbeth,  Kitely (Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour), and Giles Overreach, and became the rival of Kemble, with whom, however, and with Mrs. Siddons, he acted from 1803. In 1802 he added roles in Edward Moore's The Gamester and Charles Macklin's Man of the World.
After Kemble and Siddons came to Covent Garden in 1803, the rivalry between the two actors unfolded on one stage instead of two. Fittingly, they debuted in Richard III, though Kemble played the title role and Cooke Richmond. Shortly later they acted in John Home's Douglas: Cooke played Glenalvon to Kemble's Old Norval, and Siddons was Lady Randolph. Washington Irving records seeing the group in Othello (Cooke was Iago, and Charles Kemble was Cassio); he called the performance delightful.
For the next decade, Cooke was an erratic star in London. Already a confirmed alcoholic when he arrived, he grew steadily less reliable as his career progressed. Already in 1801, he was unable to perform because he was drunk; such failures became more frequent in later years. In 1807, after failing to appear for his summer season in Manchester, he was jailed in Westmorland for several months. In the last years of the decade, he managed to curb his excesses to some extent; he was, for instance, frequently on stage during the Old Price riots.
George Frederick Cooke