Lena Kathren Headey ( LEE-nə HEE-dee ; born 3 October 1973 ) is a Bermudian-English actress. She gained external recognition and acclaim for her portrait of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy play serial Game of Thrones ( 2011–2019 ), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award nominating speech. 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 promote 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 ), 300: Rise of an Empire ( 2014 ), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ( 2016 ), and Fighting with My Family ( 2019 ).
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Outside of film, Headey starred as Sarah Connor in the skill fabrication television receiver series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ( 2008–2009 ) and had a recurring function as Amelia Hughes in the enliven vane series Infinity Train ( 2019–2021 ). She provided voices for the role-playing television game Risen ( 2009 ) and the television game link film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV ( 2016 ), arsenic well as the enliven serial Danger Mouse ( 2015–2017 ) and Trollhunters ( 2017–2018 ), and puppet-animated serial The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance ( 2019 ) .
early life [edit ]
Lena Kathren Headey was born in Hamilton on the island of Bermuda on 3 October 1973, [ 1 ] the daughter of english parents Sue and John Headey. [ 1 ] [ citation needed ] Her father, a police military officer from Yorkshire, was stationed in Hamilton at the time in the Bermuda Police Service. She has one younger brother named Tim. [ 2 ] She is of irish descent. [ 3 ] When she was five, her kin returned to England, initially settling in Somerset before moving again to Highburton when she was 11. [ 2 ] She took ballet lessons as a child. [ 4 ] Headey had her first have of acting when she was a schoolchild 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 function in the 1992 film Waterland. [ 5 ]
career [edit ]
Beginnings ( 1992–2004 ) [edit ]
At the age of 17, Headey performed in a one-off express and afterwards a shed agent took a photograph and asked her to audition. She finally obtained a hold function in the drama Waterland ( 1992 ), [ 6 ] in which she had the opportunity to work with actors who had been in the clientele several years before her. She besides had a small function in the critically acclaim 1993 drama film The Remains of the Day, which received eight Academy Awards nominations. She appeared in the hit television receiver show Soldier Soldier with Robson and Jerome. Her career continued to grow in England throughout the decade, and she got larger parts in bigger movement pictures. In 1996 she featured as Collette in Kay Mellor ‘s Band of Gold television series, before starring in Kavanagh QC in 1997 playing the function of Natasha Jackson. [ 7 ] Headey played Kitty Brydon, the childhood friend and quixotic interest of Mowgli, in Disney ‘s The Jungle Book ( 1994 ). [ 8 ] James Berardinelli praised the cast ‘s “ solid performances ” [ 9 ] as separate of a positive critical reception, and the film found centrist commercial success in theaters. [ 10 ] She appeared face-to-face Vanessa Redgrave in the 1997 quixotic drama Mrs Dalloway, portraying the closest acquaintance of a housewife, who is now wife of a self-made millionnaire and mother of five. [ 11 ] 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 aspirant poet and appeared with Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler. [ 12 ] The movie was critically and financially unsuccessful. [ 13 ] In 2000, Headey played a newly promoted lawyer with no apparent aroused attachments in the quixotic drollery Aberdeen, [ 14 ] receiving the Silver Iris Award for Best Actress at the 2001 Brussels European Film Festival, and besides starred as a disturb college scholar in the psychological play Gossip, with Kate Hudson. [ 15 ] In 2001 ‘s drollery The Parole Officer, [ 16 ] Headey took on the function of a police officeholder, alongside Steve Coogan in his first gear movie function. While the film was heartily received, ViewLondon remarked : “ The only disappointment is Lena Headey, who, despite being fabulously sexy ( she ‘s given both a nude view and a ‘dressed as a prostitute ‘ fit ), smirks her direction through the entire film, even at the most inappropriate moments ”. [ 17 ] In 2002, she appeared as a mousy victorian lesbian artist with Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart in the mystery play Possession, [ 18 ] based on the 1990 novel of the same name by british writer A. S. Byatt, and as the wife of a law-abiding art framer die 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 identical much a male-centered film, Lena Headey turns in a brawny performance as Jonathan ‘s wife, creating a sense of proportion and normality against which other events are contrasted ”. [ 19 ] Headey appeared in the drollery The Actors ( 2003 ), inverse Dylan Moran and Michael Caine, portraying the love interest of a struggling actor. [ 20 ] She is credited as voice actor for the character Callista in the television plot Dishonored. [ 21 ]
rise to prominence ( 2005–2010 ) [edit ]
Headey found a lot wider recognition when she starred with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam ‘s gamble fantasy film The Brothers Grimm ( 2005 ), [ 22 ] as Angelika, whose woodworker church father was transformed into a werewolf by the Evil Queen. She was drawn to the “ tomboy ” nature of her quality, about which she stated : “ She lives and grows up and survives in the afforest. Terry and I talked about how her instincts are about 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 land ”. [ 23 ] The Brothers Grimm received mix reviews and made US $ 105.3 million global. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] In 2005, Headey besides starred with actress Piper Perabo in the films The Cave [ 26 ] and Imagine Me & You. [ 27 ] The repugnance movie The Cave saw the actress play a member of a group of divers who become trapped in an submerged cave net. While critical response was negative, [ 28 ] the film managed to turn a profit at the box office. [ 29 ] In the amatory dramedy Imagine Me & You, she took on the role of a womanhood who falls in sexual love at first sight with a newlywed bride who reciprocates her feelings ; the newlywed struggles with whether to remain in a emotionless marriage to a fresh husband, or pursue her electric connection to Headey ‘s character Luce. The film, which Commonsense Media called “ charm ”, “ far-out ” and “ witty ”, [ 30 ] found a limited release in theaters, but Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that the actress “ has a blunt, irresistible appeal and a face and particularly a smile that suggest intelligence, integrity and lots of fun ”. [ 31 ]
Her most know film function came possibly in 2007, when Headey played Queen Gorgo in Zack Snyder ‘s epic poem war film 300, [ 32 ] based on the 1998 comic series of the same appoint by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, a fictionalize recite of the Battle of Thermopylae within the iranian Wars. Her character has a a lot larger function in the film than she does in the amusing reserve, where she only appears in the begin, [ 33 ] and required her to film naked for one scene. “ It ‘s constantly weird the think of taking your clothes off in battlefront of 20 people and then to have it projected in battlefront of many more ”, she said during an interview. “ I think it was necessary because we merely get that scene to establish their relationship. It is a very obvious moment but I think it does it in quite a beautiful manner. ” [ 34 ] The film received assorted reviews, but was a box agency achiever, grossing over US $ 450 million. [ 35 ] In 2007, she besides appeared as the stodgy Miss Dickinson in the sixth dismissal of the St. Trinian’s film series. [ 36 ] Headey starred as Sarah Connor in Fox ‘s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, [ 37 ] a television receiver by-product of James Cameron ‘s popular Terminator franchise. The prove ran for 31 episodes in two seasons, from January 2008 to April 2009. Variety praise “ Headey ‘s farinaceous operation as Sarah —managing to be smart, resourceful and tough, however somber and vulnerable arsenic well ”. [ 38 ] For her performance, she was nominated twice for the Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. In 2008, she starred aboard Matthias Schweighöfer and Joseph Fiennes in The Red Baron, a biographic film of the fabled World War I fighter fly Manfred von Richthofen, [ 39 ] [ 40 ] appeared in Ridley Scott -produced sci-fi drama Tell-Tale, a film based on the brusque story by Edgar Allan Poe, [ 41 ] and played a radiologist in the horror film The Broken, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. [ 42 ] While the three aforementioned films went largely unnoticed by audiences, some critics praised Headey ‘s operation in The Broken, including Kim Koynar, of Cinematical, who wrote that Headey “ largely carries the film, and does so quite competently ”. [ 43 ] In 2009, Headey played an doomed character in the slasher film Laid to Rest, which received a DVD release, [ 44 ] [ 45 ] had a part in a brusque film titled The Devil’s Wedding, and besides provided her voice for an episode of the Cartoon Network series The Super Hero Squad Show, [ 46 ] playing Black Widow and Mystique. She briefly appeared in the independent drollery Pete Smalls Is Dead ( 2010 ). [ 47 ]
Mainstream success ( 2011–present ) [edit ]
Beginning in April 2011, Headey portrayed king 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. [ 48 ] She was cast in the function after her friend and eventual co-star, Peter Dinklage, suggested her casting to producers. [ 49 ] Her performance as the pitiless queen has received critical applaud, [ 50 ] [ 51 ] [ 52 ] earning a Scream Award nomination for Best Fantasy Actress for the role in 2011 [ 53 ] and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] [ 56 ]
Headey in 2019 After guest-starring in the White Collar episode “ Taking Account “ in 2011, Headey took on the function of the drawing card of a drug dealing gang and the primary villain in the 3D sci-fi action film Dredd ( 2012 ), aboard Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby. [ 57 ] [ 58 ] [ 59 ] 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 barely waiting for person bigger and stronger to show up and kill her [ … ] she ‘s cook for it. In fact, she ca n’t wait for it to happen [ … ] She ‘s an addict, so she ‘s dead in that way, but that final knock just has n’t come ”. Despite a positive critical answer, the film flopped at the box function, seeing greater success following its home free ; it has since been recognised as a cult film. [ citation needed ]
Headey joined again with Ethan Hawke to star in The Purge ( 2013 ), a “ micro-budget ” horror film, in which she took on the function of the matriarch of a kin 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 count one position in the United States, grossing over US $ 36 million over the weekend ; [ 60 ] it finally made US $ 89.3 million global. [ 61 ] She following play shadowhunter Jocelyn Fray/Jocelyn Fairchild in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones ( besides 2013 ), based on the foremost ledger 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 finally canceled. [ 62 ] Following the success of 300 ( 2007 ), Headey reprised her function as Queen Gorgo in 300: Rise of an Empire, which was released in 2014. Like the first film, Rise of an Empire received interracial reviews, but was a major commercial success, grossing over US $ 337 million worldwide. [ 63 ] In 2014, she besides starred in the illusion venture movie The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box [ 64 ] and the biographic 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 can not stop himself from sleeping with high-class escorts in the political thriller Zipper, diametric Patrick Wilson. [ citation needed ] In the historical legal action comedy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Headey appeared as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, with her early 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 “ adequate, but not fine-looking adequate ” film. [ 65 ] In 2017, Headey appeared as a “ predictably hard-bitten bos ” in the crime thriller Thumper, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, [ 66 ] and provided the voiceover for Mercedes A-Class television ad and Morgana in Trollhunters. [ citation needed ] In November 2020, Headey ‘s production company, Peephole Productions, signed a first-look manage with Platform One Media ( now Boat Rocker Studios ). [ 67 ]
Public image [edit ]
She has appeared on the covers of TV Guide, G3, Sunday Mirror and Germany ‘s Filmstar. She ranked No. 64 on the Maxim cartridge holder 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. [ 68 ]
Charity shape [edit ]
Headey supports the LGBT rights constitution NOH8, [ 69 ] and in April 2015 appeared on a jersey designed by them and sold through Represent.com to raise funds for the cause. [ 70 ] Headey has been involved with human-centered 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 “ baffled humanity in leadership ”, people should continue to “ fight for the good ”. [ 71 ] In 2018, Headey did a voice-over for an ad by the jacob’s ladder Alzheimer ‘s Research UK, which launched ahead of World Alzheimer ‘s Day ( 21 September ). [ 72 ]
personal life [edit ]
Headey in 2007 Headey was vegetarian, and stated in a 2011 consultation that she occasionally follows a vegan diet. [ 73 ] She has a number of tattoos, including a big floral design on her back [ 74 ] and a Pema Chödrön quotation mark on her rib. [ 75 ] She told Esquire that she finds the work of getting tattoo “ calm ”. [ 76 ] Her tattoo normally have to be covered by makeup when she is acting, although she has stated that “ you can normally get away with it by keeping your clothes on ”. [ 76 ] Headey married musician Peter Loughran in May 2007. [ 77 ] Their son, Wylie Loughran, was born on 31 March 2010. [ 78 ] She has spoken about suffering from postnatal natural depression following his parturition. [ 79 ] Headey and Loughran separated in 2011, and she filed for divorce in July 2012, which was finalised in December 2013. [ 77 ] [ 80 ] On 10 July 2015, Headey gave birth to a daughter named Teddy with film maker Dan Cadan, a childhood acquaintance who had worked with her on his short film The Devil’s Wedding. [ 81 ] They had separated by June 2019. [ 82 ] Headey has been close friends with boyfriend actress Piper Perabo since they starred together in the 2005 films The Cave and Imagine Me & You. [ 83 ] She is besides good friends with her Game of Thrones co-star Peter Dinklage, who first suggested her to Game of Thrones producers. [ 49 ]
Filmography [edit ]
film [edit ]
Headey ‘s most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, as of 2019, include : [ 84 ] [ 85 ]
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television [edit ]
Headey ‘s most noteworthy television roles include :