Lena Headey was amazing as Cersei on 'Game of Thrones,' but fans wonder how the show's producers found this diamond of an actress for the role.
After all, Lena's acting resume, while impressive, didn't quite lean into iron throne territory before. As IMDb recounts, the actress has countless credits for TV roles, including voice acting on shows like 'Uncle Grandpa,' and she was Sarah Connor in the 'Terminator' TV series.
And while Lena's range is impressive, perhaps not every producer would peg her for the role of a powerful yet troubled monarch.
So, how did she land such a career-changing role?
Long before she starred in 'GoT,' Lena Headey had about $5 in her bank account. Her career began in the '90s with some lesser-known TV shows, and over the years, Lena's accumulated plenty of wealth.
Her payday from 'GoT,' however, rose to around $500K per episode by the end of filming. And it's all thanks to Peter Dinklage.
Yep, Peter, Tyrion Lannister himself, recommended Lena Headey for her small-screen role (that helped her go big in Hollywood).
To this day, Lena maintains an adorable friendship with Peter Dinklage, a credit to their time together on 'Game of Thrones.' But the pair knew one another before.
As Quora fans recount, Peter reportedly said of his pal, "A lesser actress would play a wicked woman," but "Lena approaches it as a mother lion." After all, on-screen, Cersei has three children (whose father is her twin brother...), whom she strives to defend and protect.
It makes sense that the role would speak to her as a mom (Lena's got two kids, Wylie and Teddy, who are 10 and 5, respectively). And who better to recommend Lena for a wicked queen/mother role than someone who knows her well?
Though their on-screen characters weren't best buds, in real life, Peter and Lena developed a friendship on set. They palled around on set, joking between takes, and have even lived together, sources report.
Of course, that didn't help lessen the blow when Cersei met rather an unglamorous end in season 8. Fans weren't happy with the way things wound down, but they were still impressed with Lena's acting chops throughout the series.
Though she did use a body double for the 'walk of shame,' which disappointed some fans, Lena maintained that her acting was should be on show, not her private parts.
Anyway, few fans complained about Lena's portrayal of Cersei, a credit to Dinklage's recommendation. Who knows, maybe the pair will work together again (and maybe not play siblings who hate each other?).