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Game of Thrones star Lena Headey is still "shocked" by fans' "anger" more than a decade later.
She played Cersei Lannister, who in the season 5 finale is subjected to a walk of shame, where she was forced to walk naked through the streets of King's Landing. The episode "Mother's Mercy" was released in 2015, and in 2017, it was revealed that a body double was used during the harrowing sequence, a decision that Headey insisted on, and that later led to public backlash.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Headey discussed being surprised by the level of anger directed at her for having a body double during the walk of shame scene. With the filming involving approximately 3,000 extras and everyone in the cast already knowing each other quite well, she believes she would not have been able to deliver the emotional performance needed without a body double, not to mention how it would have impacted her life outside the show. Check out her comments below:
I was really shocked by the anger, by this idea that I’d duped the audience. But by that point everyone knew [the cast], it was insane simply going anywhere, and I was with 3,000 extras. Acting is a joy but it requires a lot of you. I wouldn’t have been able to do the emotional part of the job; I’d have been in full-on defensive mode.
Heady built on her response by acknowledging that despite playing one of the most pivotal Game of Thrones characters during the hit show's entire eight-season run, the series did not help her career as much as one may have expected. She addressed how "the door opens" only for a brief period of time and that women are still not being given enough opportunities in what some have dubbed a "Golden Age of TV."
You might think that [it would have] but I’ve been knocking on doors for years now. Yes, the door opens, but it opens for a certain amount of time. If you don’t get in, you’re back to the bottom of the pile. It’s as though on some level [if you are a woman,] the power must always be maintained. The Golden Age of TV is still very much for men, and we should be honest about that.
While Game of Thrones was still releasing new seasons, Headey played Mary Sandin, one of the main characters in the first The Purge movie. She also reprised her role of Queen Gorgo in 300: Rise of an Empire after previously playing the character in Zack Snyder's 300, played Jocelyn in Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and voiced Morgana in Netflix's Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia seasons 2 and 3.
After Game of Thrones ended, she was the voice of Maudra Fara in Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, played co-protagonist Aster Calyx in the science-fiction series Beacon 23, and lead character Fiona Nolan in The Abandons. However, Netflix canceled both Age of Resistance and The Abandons after just one season and MGM+ canceled Beacon 23 after two seasons. Some of her other credits during this time have included voice roles in Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Masters of the Universe: Revolution, along with the Bob Odenkirk-led movie Normal.
Headey has joined one of the biggest post-Game of Thrones shows as a new member of Netflix's Wednesday season 3 cast. Who she is playing has not been revealed yet, but the role is unlikely to be near the same level of Cersei given the already extensive number of returning and new actors, including Eva Green making her series debut as Aunt Ophelia Addams, who is at the heart of the family's long-held secrets. While many actors have had major roles in the series, others have ended up having relatively small parts, such as Lady Gaga in season 2.
In addition to Wednesday, another project that Headey has on the way is Red, White & Royal Wedding. It is a sequel to Prime Video's 2023 romantic comedy movie Red, White & Royal Blue, with the Game of Thrones star making her franchise debut as Princess Catherine. The cast also features Nicholas Galitzine, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Uma Thurman, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Chloe Fineman, Henry Ashton, Stephen Fry, and Clifton Collins Jr. In the meantime, the universe Headey helped launch on HBO continues to expand with the spinoffs House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
