Lena Headey has given a wide-ranging interview to The Telegraph, opening up about her experiences with nudity and predatory men in Hollywood. “Game of Thrones” Emmy nominee Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment in 2017 after he allegedly made suggestive comments to her while promoting “The Brothers Grimm” at the Venice Film Festival. Years later, Weinstein allegedly invited Headey to a hotel and showed her the script.
“We walked to the elevator, and the energy changed,” Headey once said of that encounter. “My whole body was on high alert. As the elevator was coming up, I said to Harvey, ‘I’m not interested in anything other than work. Don’t think I came here with you for any other reason. Nothing’s going to happen.’ I don’t know what made me say that in that moment, but I just had a strong feeling, ‘Don’t come near me.'”
“Because predatory men wield disproportionate power in the industry, we’re giving them bizarre protections that take advantage of vulnerable actresses’ need to work to get jobs and put food on the table. It’s very upsetting. It wasn’t until the #MeToo movement broke out[in 2017]that we realized that a job can be completely ruined by one person who is allowed to do that for whatever reason. This is everywhere… Most of the young women I talk to in this industry right now, the attitude today is, “I didn’t do that.” ”
It took a while for Headey to learn that she could assert herself on film and television sets. She said that when she started out as an actor, “there was a rite of passage that every young female actor had to go through, which usually involved snogging and falling in love and having sex and showing your boobs. They called them seminal parts to make it sound better.”
“But I just did it,” Headey said. “I didn’t go to drama school, so when I got on set I was like, ‘Oh my God, I got the job.’ And I don’t think I even questioned that I should have been safe in that moment. Instead, I went home and cried and thought, ‘Oh, that felt weird and all too familiar.’ Looking back now, I feel like, “Well, that was tough.” ”
“Game of Thrones” was notorious for its sex scenes and nudity, which many critics often criticized as gratuitous. Cast member Gemma Whelan once said filming these scenes was “a mess”, while Emilia Clarke admitted she cried after filming one sex scene. “Thrones” was filmed before intimacy coordinators became a standard job for productions. Headey wasn’t a genius when he landed “Thrones,” so he was more able to stand up for himself.
“I was going through the wringer at that point,” the actor told the Telegraph. “I was able to stand up for myself. I’m not saying these actresses couldn’t, but they were much younger and more vulnerable and had much less experience standing in front of people and cameras and acting. Whereas, I was at the age where I would just say something stupid and offensive and spread it.”
Nevertheless, Headey found herself in the middle of a backlash when she decided to use a body double when her character walked around naked in shame on “Game of Thrones” season 5. Some “Thrones” fans scorned her on social media when it was revealed that Kagemusha and some CGI were used for the nude scenes.
“I was really shocked by the anger at the idea that I had fooled the audience,” Headey said, reflecting on her anger. “But at that point everyone knew[the cast]. It was crazy to just go everywhere, and I was with 3,000 extras. It’s a joy to act, but it takes a lot of people. I wouldn’t have been able to do the emotional part of the job. I would have been in full defense mode.”
Headey told Entertainment Weekly at the time: “Some people thought I wasn’t a good actress because I didn’t show my breasts. That was really a bit of a shock. I’ve done nudity before, I don’t hate it, but I know I’m a very emotional actor. And I’m really driven by that. I don’t know any other way to work. Things really affect me. And the idea of being naked for three days had a big impact on me.” I think I would be very angry if I shut her down like that, I didn’t want to be angry, but I did what I thought she would do. ”
To read Headey’s full interview, visit the Telegraph website.
