Game of Thrones ended in a storm of controversy. A lot of people weren’t happy with the way the series concluded, on both sides of the camera. Case in point: Speaking to The Guardian, star Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) got candid. “I invested as a viewer and I have my favourite characters,” she said. “And I’ve got a few of my own gripes. But I haven’t sat down drunkly with David and Dan yet.”
And when she does have that drink, what might she say to them?
"I will say I wanted a better death. Obviously you dream of your death. You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted. But I just think they couldn’t have pleased everyone. No matter what they did, I think there was going to be some big comedown from the climb."
For whatever it’s worth, I also had some issues with the way Cersei went out, although I hadn’t been dreaming of it for as long as Headey had. Wait, is it weird to dream of your own character’s death? We’re sure it’s fine.
Anyway, Headey and the other cast members still speak often. “We’re all on a giant WhatsApp group which is a daily pile-on. It’s hilarious. You can tell who’s been drinking on that one.” What we wouldn’t give to be in on that…
Hopefully talking it out with her fellow castmates is a way for all of them to deal with the strangeness of no longer being on the show. Headey, at any rate, sounds at peace. “It was amazing. And things end and you move on.”
Headey’s outlook can be chocked up to her experience and her children, two things some of the younger cast members on Thrones did not have going in. “When I was much younger I would weep every time I ended a job, and I would take everybody’s phone number, every single person I’d ever said hello to, because it had been such an intense experience,” she remembered. “And then you get older and you have more of those experiences and they become less intense. I think the guys who grew up on that show, they probably formed really deep friendships that will carry them through. But most of us have our own kids. If kids don’t balance you, then nothing does.”
Did kids balance Cersei? I guess nothing would with her.
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Thrones is in Headey’s rearview mirror, but it’ll probably be a while before people forget her role. “Sometimes when you’re on the tube and suddenly someone nudges somebody else. I panic in those situations. I go, fuck, I don’t know how to handle that. Or someone chases you out of a tube – that’s the weirdest thing. Those moments I hate.”
Come on people, famous or not, no one likes being chased off the subway.
Iain Glen and Lena Headey filming "The Flood" @IainGlenFan @serjorahsarmy @IAMLenaHeadey #Iainglen pic.twitter.com/5hO4QSYYGL
— Regina Glöckl (@ReginaGloeckl) April 18, 2017
Still, it’s not all bad, as Headey uses her fame to speak out about causes she believes in. That includes the International Rescue Committee, an organization focused on providing “emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees.” She’s also appearing in a small British film alongside Thrones alum Iain Glen (Jorah) titled The Flood, about the Syrian refugee crisis.
Headey has also begun to explore directing, helming a short film co-starring another Thrones alum, Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark). It’s called The Trap, and she wrote it herself. “I’ve never, ever in my life felt more content and in my place,” she said of directing the movie. “Ever.” And to that we say, cheers!
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