Lena Headey once offered to show Craig Ferguson her 'bottom' in bizarre TV moment: "A lady who..."
'Game of Thrones' star Lena Headey has gone down in history for creating the most iconic 'Walk of Shame' scene as Cersei Lannister in the season five finale of the drama series. However, she received major backlash for choosing a body double for the nude depiction on screen. As per The Things, Headey revealed it while appearing on the 'Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson', to the flirtatious host while discussing the major part. "Game of Thrones is very different though. It's very sexy. There's a lot of business going on there. There's a lot of, 'Ooh, my lord. Ooh lady,'" Ferguson teased the '9 Bullets' actress, "You've been off making Game of Thrones and I watched the first episode and saw your bottom," he quickly added. "You did. It wasn't my bottom. No. I have to cop to that," Headey surprisingly shot back.
Headey explained that she had used a body double for the risqué scene, "A lady who got paid very well to show her bottom." Ferguson then mockingly protested that "he had been cheated" along with the viewers to which the 'Twist' actress jokingly agreed that he had indeed been "duped". She then proposed an unexpected deal, "I'll show you later," referring to showcasing her 'bottoms' in private. Not the one who will miss the chance, Ferguson gave an apt response to the offer, "Oh that's fine. This is better than cable." They then turned to discussing the making of the intimate scenes in the drama series.
During an exclusive with Entertainment Weekly, Headey clapped back at her critics saying that they never took her seriously as an actress because she refused to go nude. "Some people thought I was less of an actress because I didn't get my t**s out." The 'Merlin' actress revealed that she decided to utilize a body double because she felt vulnerably exposed performing a naked scene for three days in a row.
"I've done nudity. I'm not averse to it. But I know I'm a very emotional actor and I get really driven by that. Things really affect me. And the thought of being naked for three days and trying to contain her in the way she would be I think I would feel very angry." Headey praised actress Rebecca Van Cleave for doing her part with patience, "It's a tough f–king job and she's very smart."
In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2022, Cleave confessed that it was hard to film since she was completely nude while Headey walked beside her in a beige suit. The production team then merged the expressions of Headey and the body of Cleave to make it look like one person. It has been reported that over 1,000 female artists auditioned for the specific role, seven finalists were then chosen and they took the final test in Belfast. According to the director, David Nutter Cleave was selected because she "matched Lena's integrity, intensity, and sensibility." Cleave concluded by calling her role satisfying, "I never in a million years would have thought I would be in Dubrovnik surrounded by hundreds of extras and crew members throwing food at me, but it was amazing."
