Game of Thrones star Lena Headey: I believe Cersei is very frightened and paranoid

Ahead of Game of Thrones season four, Lena Headey, who plays Cersei, scheming mother of King Joffrey, talks to Helena de Bertodano about Hollywood, divorce and the hit HBO drama

When strangers recognise the actress Lena Headey their reaction is almost always the same. “I’ll be in a store buying beetroot and they’ll come up and say, ‘You’re such a b—.’ Or they’ll say, ‘Just f— slap that kid for me.’”

They are referring to her screen son, the monstrous King Joffrey in Game of Thrones, the fantasy drama television series that has become a global phenomenon and won numerous awards. Headey plays Cersei, a beautiful, malevolent and ambitious queen, who has an incestuous affair with her twin brother and dotes on Joffrey. In America more than 14.2 million viewers tuned in for season three. In Britain the box set for the same series was the fastest-selling ever.

With season four about to begin (it returns to Sky Atlantic on 7 April), Headey, who recently turned 40, is at the height of her career. She plays another queen in the recent 300: Rise of an Empire, a sequel to the 2006 blockbuster 300. As Gorgo, queen of Sparta, she is equally bloodthirsty and vengeful but her moral compass is stronger. “I think Gorgo fights for the good. Cersei is not like that.”See more