Lena Headey is getting real about the “weird protection” of “predatory men” in Hollywood and reveals what “shocked” her about the reaction to the Game of Thrones nudity scandal.
In a new interview, the GoT star who played Cersei Lannister in the HBO fantasy series opened up about the backlash she got for using a body double for the naked walk of shame in Season 5.
“I was really shocked by the anger, by this idea that I’d duped the audience,” Headey told The Telegraph. “But by that point everyone knew [the cast], it was insane simply going anywhere, and I was with 3000 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.”
In 2017, Headey accused Harvey Weinstein, who is now in prison for multiple sexual assault charges, of making suggestive comments at the Venice Film Festival while promoting The Brothers Grimm. Years later, Headey said Weinstein invited her to his hotel to show her a script.
“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,” she told the publication. “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.”
She continued, “I think most young women I speak to now in this business are so savvy. The attitude today is, ‘I’m not f—ing doing that.’”
