More than a decade after the infamous "Walk of Atonement" scene in "Game of Thrones," Lena Headey expressed her enduring surprise at the intense backlash she received.
Headey, who portrayed Cersei Lannister, stated in a recent interview that she was taken aback by the public's reaction, particularly the notion that she had somehow deceived the audience by not performing the nude scenes herself. "I was really shocked by the anger, by this idea that I’d duped the audience," Headey told The Telegraph. She explained that filming such a scene in front of approximately 3,000 extras would have made it impossible to deliver the necessary emotional depth.
"I wouldn’t have been able to do the emotional part of the job," she said. "I’d have been in full-on defensive mode." Headey clarified that while she is not averse to nudity in acting and has performed such scenes previously, her approach relies on vulnerability. The prospect of being naked for an extended period while trying to embody Cersei's emotional state would have compromised her ability to perform.
Headey also credited her body double, Rebecca Van Cleave, for handling the physically demanding role and acknowledged that appearing nude on camera is challenging. She noted that her status as a mother and a public figure also influenced her decision to use a double for the nude portions of the scene. "I didn’t phone it in," she stated, adding, "I was actually there for three days with Rebecca."
Looking back, Headey suggested that her experience in the industry had given her the confidence to establish boundaries, a position she felt many younger actresses might not have had.
"By that point, I’d been through the wringer," the actress 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."
Headey also touched upon what she described as a "rite of passage" for young female actors, which often involved scenes of intimacy and nudity that were sometimes presented as ingénue roles. She admitted that early in her career, she often accepted such expectations without question, simply grateful to be working, and would later process uncomfortable experiences privately.
These past experiences have shaped Headey's views on industry power dynamics. "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. A job can be completely soured by one person who, for some reason, is allowed to get away with it," she stated.
She believes the #MeToo movement has illuminated the prevalence of such issues and that contemporary actresses are more empowered to refuse uncomfortable situations. "The attitude today is, ‘I’m not f—ing doing that,'" Headey emphasized.