Line #2 Creator/LenaHeadey


1	[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lena-headey_6878.jpg]]
2	->''"There's nothing more exciting for an actor than a chance to lose, to be someone who has lost - especially if it's someone who starts off with a veneer of control. To be broken is wonderful."''
3
4	Lena Kathren Headey (born 3 October 1973 in Hamilton, Bermuda) is an English actress.
5
6	She was discovered at age 17 performing in a one-off show at the Royal National Theatre. Her first major role was in ''Film/{{The Jungle Book\|1994}}'' as Katherine. Other major roles of hers include Queen Gorgo of Sparta in ''Film/ThreeHundred'', Sarah Connor in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', and Queen Cersei Lannister in ''Series/GameOfThrones''.
7
8	She was in a relationship with Creator/JasonFlemyng for nine years. From 2007 to 2012, she was married to musician Peter Paul Loughran, with whom she has a son named Wylie.
9	----
10	!!Roles:
11	* ''Series/SoldierSoldier'' (1993) as Sheena Bowles
12	* ''Literature/TheRemainsOfTheDay'' (1993) as Lizzie
13	* ''[[Series/MacGyver1985 MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday]]'' (1994) as Elise Moran
14	* ''Film/{{The Jungle Book\|1994}}'' (1994) as Katherine "Kitty" Brydon
15	* ''Series/{{Ballykissangel}}'' (1996) as Jenny Clark
16	* ''Literature/MrsDalloway'' (1997) as Young Sally
17	* ''Series/{{Merlin\|1998}}'' (1998) as Queen Guinevere
18	* ''Onegin'' (1999) as Olga Larina
19	* ''Film/{{Gossip}}'' (2000) as Cathy Jones
20	* ''Film/TheParoleOfficer'' (2001) as Emma
21	* ''Film/TheGatheringStorm'' (2002) as Ava Wigram
22	* ''Film/RipleysGame'' (2002) as Sarah Trevanny
23	* ''Film/TheCave'' (2005) as Dr. Kathryn Jennings
24	* ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm'' (2005) as Angelika
25	* ''Film/ImagineMeAndYou'' (2005) as Luce
26	* ''Film/ThreeHundred'' (2007) as Queen Gorgo
27	** ''Film/ThreeHundredRiseOfAnEmpire'' (2014)
28	* ''Film/{{St Trinians\|2007}}'' (2007) as Miss Dickinson
29	* ''Film/TheBroken'' (2008) as Gina [=McVey=]
30	* ''Film/TheRedBaron'' (2008) as Kate Otersdorf
31	* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' (2008-09) as Sarah Connor
32	* ''Film/LaidToRest'' (2009) as Cindy Smith
33	* ''VideoGame/{{Risen}}'' (2009) as various characters (voice)
34	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'' (2009) as Natasha Romanoff / ComicBook/BlackWidow, Raven Darkhölme / ComicBook/{{Mystique}} (voice)
35	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' (2011-17, 2019) as Queen [[Characters/GameOfThronesCerseiLannister Cersei Lannister]]
36	** ''VideoGame/GameOfThronesTelltale'' (2014, voice)
37	* ''Series/WhiteCollar'' (2011) as Sally
38	* ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' (2012) as Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal
39	* ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' (2012) as Callista Curnow (voice)
40	* ''Film/TheMortalInstrumentsCityOfBones'' (2013) as Jocelyn Fray
41	* ''Film/ThePurge1'' (2013) as Mary Sandin
42	* ''WesternAnimation/UncleGrandpa'' (2014-17) as Aunt Grandma (voice)
43	* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' (2015-17) as Jeopardy Mouse (voice)
44	* ''Anime/KingsglaiveFinalFantasyXV'' (2016) as Lunafreya Nox Fleuret (voice)
45	* ''Film/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' (2016) as Lady Catherine de Bourgh
46	* ''Franchise/TalesOfArcadia'' (2016-20) as Morgana (voice)
47	** ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'' (2016-18)
48	** ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards\|2020}}'' (2020)
49	* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' (2018) as Big Mama (voice)
50	* ''Series/Sally4Ever'' (2018) AsHerself
51	* ''Film/FightingWithMyFamily'' (2019) as Julia Bevis/Sweet Saraya
52	* ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'' (2019) as Maudra Fara (voice)
53	* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'' (2019-21) as Amelia/[[spoiler:The Conductor]] (voice)
54	* ''Film/GunpowderMilkshake'' (2021) as Scarlet
55	* ''WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation'' (2021) as Evil-Lyn (voice)
56	* ''WesternAnimation/DCLeagueOfSuperPets'' (2022) as Lara (voice)
57	* ''Series/WhiteHousePlumbers'' (2023) as Dorothy Hunt
58
59	!!Tropes:
60	* ActionMom: Is often cast as such, regardless of the character being a heroine or a villain.
61	* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Has a strong tendency to play these.
62	* ButIPlayOneOnTV: She recalls in some interviews that some people call her a bitch to her face because they found Cersei Lannister so unlikeable.
63	* CartwrightCurse: Her on-screen love interests/husbands tend to have high mortality rates. Notable examples are ''Film/ThreeHundred'', ''Film/RipleysGame'', ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' (she begins the series as a single mother with the child's father long dead), ''Series/GameOfThrones'' (her husband wasn't her [[{{Twincest}} main love interest]] in this series though) and ''Film/ThePurge'' -- but [[BuryYourGays notably]] ''[[BuryYourGays not]]'' in ''Film/ImagineMeAndYou''.
64	* CelebrityVoiceActor: Like all other voice actors in ''Anime/KingsglaiveFinalFantasyXV'', she was selected to voice Luna for promotional reasons and did not reprise her role for [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV the video game]].
65	* ContraltoOfDanger: Her deep, smooth voice nicely fits her tough or untrustworthy characters.
66	* DyeingForYourArt: She is a natural brunette, but her most recognizable role as [[Series/GameOfThrones Cersei Lannister]] is a blonde. She also cut her hair short for Cersei's "[[ShamefulStrip Walk of Shame]]" scene in the Season 5 finale and kept it that way for the rest of the series.
67	* FakeAmerican: Maybe a quarter of her roles. (an exception is the [[FakeNationality Fake Greek]] in ''Film/ThreeHundred'').
68	* FunnyCharacterBoringActor: Inverted. She is most famous for playing the proper and very serious Cersei Lannister and her other roles tend to have her play similarly straight-laced characters. In real life though, she's far more expressive, humorous and lively.
69	* PlayingAgainstType: Her role as Maudra Fara in ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'' is effectively the polar opposite of her typical roles outlined inn TypeCasting.
70	* RetroactiveRecognition:
71	** Fans of ''Series/{{MacGyver\|1985}}'' may recall that the last conversation [=MacGyver=] ever has with another character (in the closing scene of the final TV movie ''Trail to Doomsday'') was with the nerdy daughter of the character whose death set the plot in motion. Guess who that was beneath the terrible haircut and ugly glasses.
72	** She was the female lead of 1994's ''Film/{{The Jungle Book\|1994}}''.
73	** She was Creator/SteveCoogan's love interest in ''Film/TheParoleOfficer'' in 2001.
74	* StarMakingRole: Although her roles in ''Film/ThreeHundred'' and ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' gave her attention, ''Series/GameOfThrones'' is generally remembered as what truly made her a star.
75	* TrollingCreator: She is fond of obliquely spoiling future ''Series/GameOfThrones'' plot developments on Instagram. Before its fourth season started airing, she messed with people's expectations when she posted [[http://instagram.com/p/nEeNM0PA3L# a heart-shape made of stones]], which teased that Lady Stoneheart would appear. She didn't.
76	* TypeCasting: As queens and other women trying to raise their sons to be great men. Subverted in ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' where she's called "Ma-Ma" but isn't an actual mother.
77	** Oddly specific in certain roles: in ''Series/{{Merlin\|1998}}'' (1998), she plays Queen Guinevere, a queen who is unfaithful to her husband, King Arthur, who is subsequently killed. Later in ''Film/ThreeHundred'' (2007), she plays Queen Gorgo, a queen who is unfaithful to her husband (albeit coerced to do so), King Leonidas, who is subsequently killed. Finally, in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' (2011-2019), she plays Queen Cersei Lannister, a queen who is unfaithful to her husband, King Robert Baratheon, who is subsequently killed.

Context Creator / LenaHeadey