More than 10 years after one of television’s most talked-about scenes, Lena Headey set the record straight about a decision that sparked backlash far beyond Westeros.<\/p>\n
Headey pulled back the curtain on the backlash that erupted after Cersei Lannister’s infamous “Walk of Atonement” in “Game of Thrones<\/a>,” revealing she still found the outrage baffling.<\/p>\n “I was really shocked by the anger, by this idea that I\u2019d duped the audience,” Headey told The Telegraph<\/a>. “But by that point everyone knew [the cast], it was insane simply going anywhere, and I was with 3,000 extras.”<\/p>\n ‘Off Campus’ Star Ella Bright Addresses Age Concerns Over Intimate Scenes In Provocative Series<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Lena Headey reflected on the backlash she received after using a body double for Cersei Lannister’s infamous “Walk of Atonement” scene in “Game of Thrones.”<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n She explained that while acting is “a joy,” the scale of filming the scene would have made it impossible for her to fully inhabit the emotional performance if she had also been worrying about being naked in front of thousands of people.<\/p>\n “I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do the emotional part of the job,” she told the outlet. “I\u2019d have been in full-on defensive mode.”<\/p>\n Read On The Fox News App<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Looking back, Headey said she was in a very different position than many younger actresses entering the industry. Her experience on set gave her the confidence to set boundaries she doesn’t believe everyone feels comfortable asserting.<\/p>\n Goldie Hawn Sounds The Alarm On Childhood Celebrity Culture: ‘All I Can Say Is It’s A Nightmare’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “By that point, I\u2019d been through the wringer,” the actress said. “I could stand up for myself. I\u2019m not saying those actresses couldn\u2019t, 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\u2019d just tit about and diffuse anything uncomfortable with idiocy.”<\/p>\n At the time, Headey told Entertainment Weekly<\/a> some viewers believed she was “less of an actress” because she didn’t perform the nudity herself.<\/p>\n “I’ve done nudity. I’m not averse to it,” she explained in 2016. “But I know I’m a very emotional actor and I get really driven by that. In order to do my job, I allow myself to be really vulnerable. I don’t know any other way to do my job. Things really affect me. And the thought of being naked for three days and trying to contain her in the way she would be I think I would feel very angry. I didn’t want to be angry. I don’t think Cersei would be angry. I did what I thought she would do, emotionally.”<\/p>\n Lena Headey said filming Cersei Lannister’s iconic “Game of Thrones” scene with thousands of extras made using a body double the right choice for her performance.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Headey praised body double Rebecca Van Cleave for taking on the physically demanding role, acknowledging that appearing nude on camera<\/a> was far from easy. She also said being a mother and an established public figure made filming the nude portions herself feel like more than she was willing to take on.<\/p>\n “I didn’t phone it in,” she noted of her performance. “I was actually there for three days with Rebecca.”<\/p>\n Lena Headey portrayed the ruthless and power-hungry Queen Cersei Lannister throughout HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones,” earning multiple Emmy nominations for the role.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Click Here To Sign Up For The Entertainment Newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n For Headey, the controversy also reflected a much bigger issue she believes many actresses faced<\/a> early in their careers.<\/p>\n “There was this rite of passage all young female actors had to go through, which usually involved snogging and falling in love, and having sex and showing your boobs,” she told The Telegraph. “They\u2019d call them the ing\u00e9nue parts, to make it sound nicer.”<\/p>\n The “300” actress admitted she rarely questioned those expectations when she was starting out because she was simply grateful to be working.<\/p>\n “But I just got on with it,” she explained. “I didn\u2019t go to drama school, so I would just arrive on a set and be, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019ve got a job.\u2019 And when it came to those moments, I don\u2019t think I even questioned that I should be safe. Instead, I\u2019d go home and cry, or think, \u2018Oh, that felt weird and too familiar.\u2019 Now I look back and feel, \u2018Hmm, that was rough.\u2019”<\/p>\n Like What You’re Reading? Click Here For More Entertainment News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Lena Headey said her early experiences in Hollywood shaped the boundaries she later set as an established actress, reflecting on changing attitudes toward women in the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Those experiences ultimately changed the way Headey viewed power dynamics throughout the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n “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 \u2013 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.”<\/p>\n She said the #MeToo movement exposed how widespread those experiences were and believes younger actresses today are far more willing to reject situations that make them uncomfortable.<\/p>\n “The attitude today is, \u2018I\u2019m not f—ing doing that,'” she emphasized.<\/p>\n Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Lena](\"https:\/\/hermes.media.static.aol.com\/media\/2026\/07\/20\/a5b53a6f-84b8-3f48-bb8b-d71b8d0d4777\/f3fc55a3-fab8-4a5c-8085-da1308c710c2.jpg\"\/)
<\/div>![\"Sophie](\"https:\/\/hermes.media.static.aol.com\/media\/2026\/07\/20\/a5b53a6f-84b8-3f48-bb8b-d71b8d0d4777\/bab11157-550e-4aed-9508-ff8a4edfad25.jpg\"\/)
<\/div>![\"Lena](\"https:\/\/hermes.media.static.aol.com\/media\/2026\/07\/20\/a5b53a6f-84b8-3f48-bb8b-d71b8d0d4777\/28e89708-eec0-489a-b348-695f590f5d2f.jpg\"\/)
<\/div>