Emmy Nominations: ‘Game of Thrones’ nyota Lena Headey on Cersei’s Toughest Moments 

Lena Headey was knocked for a loop when she learned that she had received her second straight Emmy Award nomination for playing Cersei Lannister on “Game of Thrones.” Not only was she surprised that she earned another nod, but she has was also exhausted.

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“My baby was awake all night, so I think she knew something I didn’t,” Headey told Speakeasy in a telephone interview not long after the nominations for the 67th annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced. The “Game of Thrones” star gave birth to a daughter two weeks ago, and she took time to discuss her latest nomination even as she fed her baby.

Headey’s nod for season five of “Game of Thrones” came after her character, Cersei, had one of the most prominent story lines in the past season, which concluded with one of the most harrowing moments in the show’s history — a grueling punishment sequence in which the disgraced Queen Mother of Westeros is forced to walk nude through King’s Landing’s filthy, crowded streets.

Headey, with newborn in her arms, talked about the scene and other aspects of her work on “Game of Thrones.” An edited excerpt follows.

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Is this nomination more of a surprise than the first one, or was it not a surprise at all?

No, it’s a surprise. Everybody’s like, “This will happen, this will happen,” and you’re like, “Well … you never know, you never know.” It’s sort of sinking in still.

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This season was a bit of a showcase for Cersei, and she faced many tribulations. Does that make it more rewarding to you this time around?

It obviously feels very lovely to be recognized for work that you’ve done. So, yes, I guess in a sense, although you never go into it thinking anything other than, “I just want to do Dave and Dan’s work.” And having played the character for five years, it’s exciting to get to do where you knew where they were going when we initially spoke, where we knew Cersei was going, and now I have no idea what’s going to happen.

A big part of your role this year was that Walk of Shame scene. When you perform a scene like that, and you eventually get rewarded for that kind of work, does it make the satisfaction a little stronger for you?

Yes. Like I said, it’s great to be recognized, and I love that kind of work. We were up at 4, it was three straight days, me and [body double Rebecca Van Cleave] shared the walk. This is where I knew Cersei was going to, so to get there finally and break her down and have that moment, I loved every minute of it. It was tough. I loved that. I love a challenge. To remain emotionally focused in the midst of that three-day marathon … it was good to be recognized for that.

Is there any other scene this season that you feel like wasn’t as heralded but you felt powerfully about?

I really enjoyed the scene with Jonathan Pryce, the confession scene, where she’s on her knees and is telling tiny truths and also telling giant lies and withholding truth. Because all she wants to do is get out of there and see her son and escape. So she’s kind of playing him still, after all that, she’s playing a game, but there are real emotions in there for her also. I just think it showed what a master manipulator and a game-player she is even under the circumstances that she faced. She never surrenders.

That kind of emotional engagement, does that wear on you in any way?

The funny thing about being an actor, you know, the only way to do it is to surrender, give yourself over, lose yourself in it. [At this time, Headey tends to her baby.] I enjoy it, I enjoy when you can lose yourself in it, when there’s such brilliant writing. It’s exciting for me.

Going into next season, what do you feel about what you’re going to do with Cersei? Where do you think she is at this point?

I don’t think she’s incredibly happy. [laughs] I don’t think she likes very many people, even less than before, if that’s even possible. She’s made more enemies. … That was my baby pooping if you heard that! [laughs] This is hilarious, I have her on my boob, and she’s pooping, and we’re discussing Cersei. [laughs] Who says new moms can’t multitask? I think she’s in a state of pure vengeance, but I don’t think it’s going to be straightforward because it’s her. It is exciting. If I don’t die.

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Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai, Mike Ayers and Michael Calia with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai, @themikeayers, @michael_calia

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