Lena Headey Defends Body Double in 3-Day Game of Thrones Scene as Backlash Still Baffles Her
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 20
Lena Headey Defends Body Double in 3-Day Game of Thrones Scene as Backlash Still Baffles Her
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 20
Summary
More than 10 years later, Lena Headey said the anger over using a body double in Cersei Lannister’s “Walk of Atonement” still feels “insane” and left her shocked by claims she had duped viewers.
Headey said filming with 3,000 extras made full nudity incompatible with the emotional performance she needed, arguing she would have been in “defensive mode” instead of playing the scene truthfully.
Rebecca Van Cleave handled the nude portions while Headey said she remained on set for 3 days, stressing she “didn’t phone it in” and had already explained in 2016 that the choice served the character.
The actress linked the controversy to wider industry pressures on women, saying younger performers were often pushed into sex-and-nudity “ingénue” roles and lacked the leverage she had later in her career.
Headey said #MeToo exposed how power imbalances protected predatory men in entertainment, and she believes younger actresses are now more willing to refuse work that makes them uncomfortable.