Lena Headey, a lead actor of the drama "Game of Thrones," which sparked a global sensation, candidly revealed her feelings about the audience anger that poured out after the notorious "walk of shame" nude penance scene.
According to the Daily Mail's report on the 21st (local time), 52-year-old Rena Headey had to endure a fierce backlash for using a body double in the infamous nude walk scene of Cersei Lannister.
At the time, Cersei was punished with a harrowing sentence to walk naked through King's Landing after her incest was exposed by religious extremists, while countless crowds threw filth and shouted "Shame!" Immediately after the broadcast, online expressions criticized that a strong female character had been sexually humiliated and demeaned, and when it became known that Lena Headey had used a body double for that scene, public anger veered in an unexpected direction.
Regarding this, Lena Headey confessed her embarrassment at the time, saying, "I was really shocked by the idea that I had deceived the audience (used a trick) and the resulting public anger." She emphasized that it was a professional choice made to focus on emotional acting, saying, "By that point the entire cast had become so famous that we were going crazy wherever we went, and there were as many as 3,000 extras on set." Lena Headey added, "Acting gives great joy but also demands a lot. If I had undressed myself, I would have become entirely defensive and would not have been able to deliver the character's emotional part properly."
She also firmly denied the absurd rumor raised by some that "she personally selected a body double at least 10 years younger to look more attractive on screen." She said, "At the time I only said, 'If someone is going to do this role, I will fully follow the production team's decision.' I had no desire to be involved, and for me the entire process was by no means about vanity," adding, "If vanity had intervened, that would have hindered the acting."
Unlike younger colleagues such as Emilia Clarke, who in the past felt vulnerable to intense nudity and direction on set, veteran actor Rena Headey was firmly able to protect herself. Referring to a past interview, she said, "Some thought my value as an actor diminished because I didn't take off my clothes. But I am a very emotional actor, and I throw myself into a completely vulnerable state to do my work," asserting that maintaining the collapsing emotions of the character was a much more arduous task than exposing her body.
Rebecca van Cleave, the actress who served as Rena Headey's body double at the time, also defended her in the past, saying, "I do not agree with the view that using a body double diminishes the value of that scene. Lena poured her soul and heart into that scene," and added, "What matters is the finished work itself, not whose body or head was used where."
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), still from "Game of Thrones"
[OSEN]