Lena Headey was shocked by how mad toxic “Game of Thrones” fans got when she got a body double for nude scenes as the series progressed.
In an interview with The Telegraph published Thursday, Headey – who played Cersei Lannister in the HBO hit – recalled the backlash she faced when she stopped doing her own nude scenes during the fifth season of the show. She could not believe that fans felt that she was tricking them by using a double rather than doing the scenes herself.
“I was really shocked by the anger, by this idea that I’d duped the audience,” Headey said. “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.”
Headey remembered early in her career taking on the “ingenue parts” that she said involved “snogging and falling in love, and having sex and showing your boobs.” She said she accepted those parts because she was just happy to have a job and be on set but looking back thought “‘Hmm, that was rough.’” Once she booked “Game of Thrones” – a show that became known for its nudity and sex scenes – she knew she could speak up for herself more.
“By that point I’d been through the wringer,” Headey said. “I could stand up for myself. I’m not saying those actresses couldn’t, but they were much younger and more vulnerable, and had far less experience of being in front of people and the camera and performing. Whereas I was of an age where I’d just tit about and diffuse anything uncomfortable with idiocy.”
The interview not only touched on the toxic backlash she faced on “Thrones,” but also her experiences watching Hollywood protect “predatory men” in the industry. Headey was one of the many to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment in 2017. Her incident with the infamous producer happened at the Venice Film Festival while she was promoting “The Brothers Grimm,” and looking back Headey was angry at how Hollywood protected men like Weinstein but also marveled at how young actresses now are more “savvy” to things.
“The weird protection that we offer predatory men in the business because of the disproportionate power they wield, set against the need among vulnerable actresses to work to put food on the table to get the job – it makes me very angry,” Headey said. “A job can be completely soured by one person who, for some reason, is allowed to get away with it. It was only when the #MeToo movement erupted [in 2017] that we realized – oh, this is everywhere … I think most young women I speak to now in this business are so savvy. The attitude today is, ‘I’m not fucking doing that.’”
