Ahead of the anxiously-awaited return of HBO’s hit fantasy series Game of Thrones, one of the series’ most iconic stars has spoken out against the sexist and objectifying practices she’s encountered during her time in Hollywood. Speaking to British fashion magazine The Edit, Lena Headey describes how casting directors have made sexually explicit remarks to her during auditions throughout her career. Headey, best known for her roles as Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones and Queen Gorgo in 300, told her interviewer that Hollywood casting directors often choose female cast member based solely on their sex appeal as opposed to acting talent:
There’s a real pressure on women to be beautiful and skinny. When I was in my twenties and doing a lot of audition tapes in the States, a casting director told me: ‘The men take these tapes home and watch them and say, ‘Who would you f—?’ I’ve never played the game of going in [to auditions] and flirting; I’ve never done it and I’m very happy I didn’t.
When asked if she thought not flirting with directors ever cost her a job, Headey stated, “Yes, and I’m very happy I didn’t.”
Throughout the interview, Headey describes the difficulties women in Hollywood still face daily on and off the set. Headey recalls having to perform in front of cameras shortly after giving birth to her son prior to filming season one of Game of Thrones while she was experiencing postpartum depression, citing how “tricky” it was to play a mother on set while also figuring out her own role as a mother off-camera.
Headey’s role on Game of Thrones has earned her several industry awards, as well as nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Her performance as the scheming queen Cersei has been one of the highlights of the award-winning series throughout its seven-year run. Her ‘walk of shame’ sequence in season six has since become somewhat of a cultural meme.
Season seven of Game of Thrones premieres July 16 on HBO.
Brett Tingley
To be fair, the ‘walk of shame’ scene was her face superimposed on Rebecca Van Cleave
I LOOOOVE Lena Headey! I because a huge fan of hers watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – an amazing and underrated show that shouldn’t have been cancelled!
Aren’t we sick and tired of women in entertainment b*tching and moaning about objectification while laughing all the way to the bank?
No, but I am sick of people trying to be edgy in posts. ( or are they just stupid, jealous and hateful?)
You’re sick of yourself?
That’s nice. I used to work high end jewelry sales and flirting with old, rich white women was part of the job, and necessary to get the sale in many cases. Does this mean I was sexually harassed or demeaned? Of course not, and not just because I am male, but because I understand that building personal relationships is vital for any career, and flirting can help with that in the right circumstances. Please note, this actress isn’t talking about sex or the “casting couch”, it’s just “flirting”. She can feel oppressed all she likes, but its nonsense.
This basically means that Cercei dies season 7, why else would she wait to spill the beans?
Thanks for the spoilers, also I’m sure she’s just pissed she didn’t get the money she rly wanted out of the series, typical actress/actor stuff.
Dude, this article is her talking about her entire experience as an actor, Not just for her time spent as Cercei in Game of Thrones. Seems like she was generally trying to share her past experiences so others can learn from it as she did.
That’s every job in every field. That’s just life.
Holy shit, these comments are horrendous.
Yeah…
Yeah, most of these comments either completely miss the point or are just plain misogynistic. Sorry you guys have to deal with this crap in the comments, and thanks for the article!
That’s kind of idiotic to say.
“Misogyny” is a nonsense accusation here. No industry, no field, nowhere is it untrue that building a relationship, or some chemistry, or whatever won’t help you. Nor is it true anywhere that there aren’t crude people in all fields. That’s just life.
She’s not saying she was asked to bend over the casting couch at an audition. She’s saying “The reason, and I know the reason, that I lost some random job is because I didn’t flirt.” Well, no, she doesn’t know that. She assumes it.
These people aren’t saying “It’s totally acceptable for someone to be crude in the workplace.” They’re saying that’s just reality and everyone has to deal with it.
Her claims are totally unproven. She can’t know why she didn’t get a gig unless they told her outright. And I’d be willing to bet that even if we assume some scummy folks are in play and they totally would be willing to act that way they didn’t TELL her that’s why she lost the role. So she’s assuming.
Just because you’ve got some annoying feminist agenda doesn’t mean you get to leave reason at the door. This is the nature of life sometimes. Everyone deals with it, and you not liking it doesn’t mean anything other than you’re raging about something you won’t change. There will always be less than principled people in the world. Get used to it and quit complaining.
All this says is flirting works, it’s one thing to say it was expected of her. But from this quote all that can be read is she choice not to use one of the tools available to good looking people.
Cue the outrage.