#LongMaySheReign

Backup archive for our page Cersei Lannister: Long May She Reign

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Cersei would kidnap the Red Priestess, she would resurrect all her dead children, and they would all rule happily ever after.

- Lena Headey describes what would have been Cersei’s dream ending.

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𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝟰 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙚, 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙞 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙏𝙮𝙬𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙅𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙞 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨?

I think the pain of Joffrey’s death made her a little less controlled. She’s always been afraid of her father — I think that’s held her back. But I love that Cersei has that moment of, “Oh, fuck it. My kid just fucking died and you’re a shit, so I’m going to tell you how it is”. I wanted to capture both the child that she still is with him, as well as the confidence after having raised three children of her own, of telling him to fuck off. But of course she’s also terrified of what she’s saying, too. I think she was genuinely at a moment where she just thought, “You know what … you old bastard. I’m going to let you have it”.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

I’ve known Charles for a long, long time, and he’s pretty formidable. He’s a pussycat off-screen, but he’s ferocious as Tywin. There’s always that strange feeling when you know someone and you’ve spent a lot of time together, and a part of you is thinking, “Shit, this is it. It’s the last time I’m going to get to look in your eyes and do what we do.” It’s kind of weird.

𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗶, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹. 𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗧𝘆𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱-𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻.

He is, without a doubt, one of the shittest Dads. All she’s wanted to do is sit with him and have him tell her she’s doing good, and that he loves her, but she’s given up on that. As a child, you never stop wanting to be validated by your parents—especially with a daughter to a father, and that’s why she has problems with her brothers. Because she believes, “If I were a guy, perhaps this would be easier.” But she has a lot to contend with, Cersei.

- Lena Headey on her last scene with Charles Dance.

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𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘪 𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭?

Because of her children. Most folk know by now her kids are her life. She said in season two I think, if it wasn’t for her children she would have thrown herself from the highest window. To admit that relationship, to admit her children are born of incest, even Cersei doesn’t have a way out of that truth.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘪 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 — 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯?

It was a great moment to play. Cersei is such a good liar. So for her to be truly laid bare was a new path. I was missing my own son at the time we shot this and so it wasn’t hard to find this truth.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯?

She just wants to get out, by whatever means. She wants to see her son, to see that he’s OK. To make sure Margaery is still locked up. To make sure everything is as she intended. To see if Jaime has Myrcella.

- Lena Headey on Cersei’s imprisonment.

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𝘐𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬?

No. Her concern is her daughter. Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is damaged beyond repair. She doesn’t care what he thinks. There is still love there, for sure, but it’s severely warped [on her behalf].

𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘺?

I don’t believe she does. They have always been close. He’s a good, kind boy and in her mind she truly believes that she can make it all better for him, for both of them, now she’s free.

- Lena Headey on Cersei’s relationships after the walk of atonement.

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𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦?

When she walks through the gates, the men who are standing and staring, including her uncle, people she has known for years make no effort to comfort or shield her. Her son is not there. Only Qyburn and his creation come to her rescue. She has been abused and humiliated on an epic scale. But she’s a survivor. Cersei moves on quickly, because she learned from an early age that there is only a way forward, not back. Her thoughts of vengeance are already forming. In fact what kept her spirits up in the cell swere thoughts of how she can hurt those who hurt her.

- More of Lena Headey’s words on the walk of atonement.

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𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘪, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘸?

I admire her survival skills. Her ability to navigate amongst men who don’t believe in her. And her devotion to her children. Her biggest flaw is her inability to just listen to the few who actually do care about her. She doesn’t think she’s worth that investment.

- Lena Headey’s thoughts on Cersei’s strenghts and weaknesses.

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𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴: 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

- Lena Headey on filming Joffrey’s funeral, while having to display Cersei’s pain.

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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘪’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 — 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦? 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴?

Yes it was clear in the script too. She can see the Red Keep in the distance, she knows her son is there. She doesn’t care about anyone else at that moment. She’s stripped and her hair is shorn and she has to walk through miles of people who despise her, who are hungry and homeless because of her family, but she doesn’t care.. I said to Nutter, “she just has to walk, no head turning, no eye contact, just keep moving, right?.” When she gets to the gates of the Red Keep with fewer eyes on her then she can break a little. But she has a goal, a focus and that’s what keeps her moving forward, she doesn’t once let go of the fact that she will be able to hold her son at the end of this. To make sure he is safe.

- Lena Headey on Cersei’s walk of shame.