Lena Headey
Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series "Game of Thrones" (2011–2019), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Headey made her film debut in the mystery drama "Waterland" (1992). She continued to work steadily in British and American films and on television, before gaining further recognition with her lead performances in the films "The Brothers Grimm" (2005) and "300" (2007). Her other film credits include "The Remains  of the Day" (1993), "The Jungle Book" (1994), "Mrs Dalloway" (1997), "Ripley's Game" (2002), "Imagine Me & You" (2005), "Dredd" (2012), "The Purge" (2013), "" (2014), "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (2016), and "Fighting with My Family" (2019). Outside of film, Headey starred as Sarah Connor in the science fiction television series "" (2008–2009) and had a recurring role as Amelia Hughes in the animated web series "Infinity Train" (2019–2021). She provided voices for the role-playing video game "Risen" (2009) and the video game tie-in film "" (2016), as well as the animated series "Danger Mouse" (2015–2017) and "" (2017–2018), and puppet -animated series "" (2019). Early life. Lena Kathren Headey was born in Hamilton on the island of Bermuda on 3 October 1973, the daughter of English parents Sue and John Headey. Her father, a police officer from Yorkshire, was stationed in Hamilton at the time in the Bermuda Police Service. She has one younger brother named Tim. She is of Irish descent. When she was five, her family returned to England, initially settling in Somerset . She took ballet lessons as a child. Headey had her first experience of acting when she was a pupil at Shelley College; she was noticed at  age 17, when performing in a school production at the Royal National Theatre, and was picked for a role in the 1992 film "Waterland". Career. Beginnings (1992–2004). At the age of 17, Headey performed in a one-off show and afterwards a casting agent took a photo and asked her to audition. She eventually obtained a supporting role in the drama "Waterland" (1992), in which she had the opportunity to work with actors who had been in the business several years before her. She also had a small role in the critically acclaimed 1993 drama film "The Remains of the  Day", which received eight Academy Awards nominations. She appeared in the hit TV show "Soldier Soldier" with Robson and Jerome. Her career continued to grow in England throughout the decade, and she got larger parts in bigger motion pictures. In 1996 she featured as Collette in Kay Mellor's "Band of Gold" TV series, before starring in "Kavanagh QC" in 1997 playing the role of Natasha Jackson. Headey played Kitty Brydon, the childhood friend and romantic interest of Mowgli, in Disney's "The Jungle Book" (1994). James Berardinelli praised the cast's "solid performances" as part of a positive critical  reception, and the film found moderate commercial success in theaters. She appeared opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the 1997 romantic drama "Mrs Dalloway", portraying the closest friend of a housewife, who is now wife of a self-made millionnaire and mother of five. She was then cast in the drama "Onegin" (1999), a film based on the 19th-century Russian novel "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin, in which she portrayed the fiancée of an aspiring poet and appeared with Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler. The film was critically and financially unsuccessful. In 2000, Headey played a newly promoted lawyer with no  apparent emotional attachments in the romantic comedy "Aberdeen", receiving the Silver Iris Award for Best Actress at the 2001 Brussels European Film Festival, and also starred as a troubled college student in the psychological drama "Gossip", with Kate Hudson. In 2001's comedy "The Parole Officer", Headey took on the role of a police officer, alongside Steve Coogan in his first film role. While the film was warmly received, "ViewLondon" remarked: "The only disappointment is Lena Headey, who, despite being fantastically sexy (she's given both a nude scene and a 'dressed as a prostitute' scene), smirks her way through  the entire film, even at the most inappropriate moments". In 2002, she appeared as a mousey Victorian lesbian artist with Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart in the mystery drama "Possession", based on the 1990 by British author A. S. Byatt, and as the wife of a law-abiding art framer dying of leukemia in the thriller "Ripley's Game", adapted from the 1974 novel of the same name. In its review for the latter, "Eye for Film" noted: "Whilst this is very much a male-centered film, Lena Headey turns in a powerful performance as Jonathan's wife, creating a  sense of balance and normality against which other events are contrasted". Headey appeared in the comedy "The Actors" (2003), opposite Dylan Moran and Michael Caine, portraying the love interest of a struggling actor. She is credited as voice actor for the character Callista in the video game Dishonored. Rise to prominence (2005–2010). Headey found much wider recognition when she starred with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam's adventure fantasy film "The Brothers Grimm" (2005), as Angelika, whose woodsman father was transformed into a werewolf by the Evil Queen. She was drawn to the "tomboy" nature of her  character, about which she stated: "She lives and grows up and survives in the forest. Terry and I talked about how her instincts are almost animalistic and she can see 360 degrees around her. She is aware of what is going on. That is how she is grounded. She is of the earth". "The Brothers Grimm" received mixed reviews and made US$105.3 million worldwide. In 2005, Headey also starred with actress Piper Perabo in the films "The Cave" and "Imagine Me & You". The horror film "The Cave" saw the actress play a member of a group of divers who  become trapped in an underwater cave network. While critical response was negative, the film managed to turn a profit at the box office. In the romantic dramedy "Imagine Me & You", she took on the role of a woman who falls in love at first sight with a newlywed bride who reciprocates her feelings; the newlywed struggles with whether to remain in a passionless marriage to a sweet husband, or pursue her electric connection to Headey's character Luce. The film, which Commonsense Media called "charming", "quirky" and "witty", found a limited release in theaters, but Mick LaSalle from the "San  Francisco Chronicle" stated that the actress "has a forthright, irresistible appeal and a face and especially a smile that suggest intelligence, integrity and lots of fun". Her most known film role came perhaps in 2007, when Headey played Queen Gorgo in Zack Snyder's epic war film "300", based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae within the Persian Wars. Her character has a much larger role in the film than she does in the comic book, where she only appears in the beginning , and required her to film naked for one scene. "It's always weird the thought of taking your clothes off in front of 20 people and then to have it projected in front of many more", she said during an interview. "I think it was necessary because we only get that scene to establish their relationship. It is a very obvious moment but I think it does it in quite a beautiful way." The film received mixed reviews, but was a box office success, grossing over US$450 million. In 2007, she also appeared as the stuffy Miss Dickinson in  the sixth release of the "St. Trinian's" film series. Headey starred as Sarah Connor in Fox's "", a television spin-off of James Cameron's popular "Terminator" franchise. The show ran for 31 episodes in two seasons, from January 2008 to April 2009. "Variety" praised "Headey's gritty performance as Sarah —managing to be smart, resourceful and tough, yet melancholy and vulnerable as well". For her performance, she was nominated twice for the Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. In 2008, she starred alongside Matthias Schweighöfer and Joseph Fiennes in "The Red Baron", a biographical film of the  legendary World War I fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, appeared in Ridley Scott-produced sci-fi drama "Tell-Tale", a film based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, and played a radiologist in the horror film "The Broken", which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. While the three aforementioned films went largely unnoticed by audiences, some critics praised Headey's performance in "The Broken", including Kim Koynar, of "Cinematical", who wrote that Headey "largely carries the film, and does so quite ably". In 2009, Headey played an ill-fated character in the slasher film "Laid to Rest", which  received a DVD release, had a part in a short film titled "The Devil's Wedding", and also provided her voice for an episode of the Cartoon Network series "The Super Hero Squad Show", playing Black Widow and Mystique. She briefly appeared in the independent comedy "Pete Smalls Is Dead" (2010). Mainstream success (2011–present). Beginning in April 2011, Headey portrayed queen regent Cersei Lannister on the HBO series "Game of Thrones", based on George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of novels. She was cast in the role after her friend and eventual co -star, Peter Dinklage, suggested her casting to producers. Her performance as the ruthless queen has received critical acclaim, earning a Scream Award nomination for Best Fantasy Actress for the role in 2011 and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. After guest-starring in the "White Collar" episode "Taking Account" in 2011, Headey took on the role of the leader of a drug dealing gang and the primary villain in the 3D sci-fi action film "Dredd" (2012), alongside Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby. Her performance was inspired  by punk-rock singer Patti Smith, and on the character, Headey asserted: "I think of [Ma-Ma] like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her [...] she's ready for it. In fact, she can't wait for it to happen [...] She's an addict, so she's dead in that way, but that last knock just hasn't come". Despite a positive critical response, the film flopped at the box office, seeing greater success following its home release; it has since been recognised as a cult film . Headey joined again with Ethan Hawke to star in "The Purge" (2013), a "micro-budget" horror film, in which she took on the role of the matriarch of a family who find themselves endangered by a gang of murderers during the annual Purge, a night during which all crime, even murder, is temporarily legal. The film at number one position in the United States, grossing over US$36 million over the weekend; it eventually made US$89.3 million worldwide. She next played shadowhunter Jocelyn Fray/Jocelyn Fairchild in "" (also 2013), based on the first book of "The Mortal Instruments" series  by Cassandra Clare, and opposite Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower. The film flopped at the box office, and as a result, plans for sequels were eventually canceled. Following the success of "300" (2007), Headey reprised her role as Queen Gorgo in "", which was released in 2014. Like the first film, "Rise of an Empire" received mixed reviews, but was a major commercial success, grossing over US$337 million worldwide. In 2014, she also starred in the fantasy adventure film "" and the biographical film "Low Down", which detailed the life of jazz pianist Joe Albany. In 2015, she played the  wife of a federal prosecutor running for office who cannot stop himself from sleeping with high-class escorts in the political thriller "Zipper", opposite Patrick Wilson. In the historical action comedy "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", Headey appeared as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, with her former "Game of Thrones", "Century" and "The Contractor" co-star Charles Dance. Andrew Barker, of "Variety", found her to be "excessively diverting" in what he considered a "tolerable, but not handsome enough" film. In 2017, Headey appeared as a "predictably hard-boiled boss" in the crime thriller "Thumper", which premiered at the Tribeca Film  Festival, and provided the voiceover for Mercedes A-Class television advertisement and Morgana in "". In November 2020, Headey's production company, Peephole Productions, signed a first-look deal with Platform One Media (now Boat Rocker Studios). In March 2022, Headey was set to make her feature directorial debut with thriller film "Violet" based on a novel of the same name by SJI Holliday. Public image. She has appeared on the covers of "TV Guide", "G3", "Sunday Mirror" and Germany's "Filmstar". She ranked No. 64 on the "Maxim" magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list. She was listed at No. 4 , No. 10 and No. 3 in AfterEllen's list of the Hot 100 in 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively. Charity work. Headey supports the LGBT rights organisation NOH8, and in April 2015 appeared on a T-shirt designed by them and sold through Represent.com to raise funds for the cause. Headey has been involved with humanitarian organization the International Rescue Committee (IRC), advocating for migrants who have been languishing in Greece during the European migrant crisis, saying that in the face of rising populism and the "lost humanity in leadership", people should continue to "fight for the good". In 2018 , Headey did a voice-over for an advertisement by the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, which launched ahead of World Alzheimer's Day (21 September). Personal life. Headey was vegetarian, and stated in a 2011 interview that she occasionally follows a vegan diet. She has a number of tattoos, including a large floral design on her back and a Pema Chödrön quote on her ribs. She told "Esquire" that she finds the process of getting tattoos "calming". Her tattoos usually have to be covered by makeup when she is acting, although she has stated that "you can usually get away  with it by keeping your clothes on". Headey married musician Peter Loughran in May 2007. Their son, Wylie Loughran, was born on 31 March 2010. She has spoken about suffering from postnatal depression following his birth. Headey and Loughran separated in 2011, and she filed for divorce in July 2012, which was finalised in December 2013. On 10 July 2015, Headey gave birth to a daughter named Teddy with filmmaker Dan Cadan, a childhood friend who had worked with her on his short film "The Devil's Wedding". They had separated by June 2019. Headey has been close friends with  fellow actress Piper Perabo since they starred together in the 2005 films "The Cave" and "Imagine Me & You". She is also good friends with her "Game of Thrones" co-star Peter Dinklage, who first suggested her to "Game of Thrones" producers. Filmography. Film. Headey's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, as of 2019, include: Television. Headey's most notable television roles include: