'Game of Thrones': Lena Headey was initially against Cersei sex scene

Game of Thrones star Lena Headey has revealed she initially protested against Cersei Lannister’s decision to have sex with Euron Greyjoy.

In the season eight premiere, the self-appointed queen of Westeros reluctantly bedded the ghastly pirate, and it seems Headey needed just as much convincing to get on board with her character’s decision.

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The opening episode saw Euron worm his way into Cersei’s good books after delivering her the Golden Company army (although she was slightly disappointed they didn’t bring any elephants), and in return he demanded that she sleep with him. Despite initially resisting his smarmy advances, Cersei eventually gave in, presumably because she didn’t want to lose Euron as an ally.

“I kept saying, ‘She wouldn’t, she wouldn’t, that she would keep fighting,’” Headey told Entertainment Weekly. “But [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] obviously know what they’re doing and were adamant Cersei would do what she had to do.”

Pilou Asbaek, who plays Euron, admitted that many discussions were had about Cersei’s decision to sleep with his character.

He said: “We had a lot of discussions. Would it be out of character for her to be with Greyjoy for power? We discussed it so much that we almost ended up going, ‘Maybe it’s too much.’ Then we decided to try it out and see if it works.

“Sometimes you have to show different sides of a character. You have to surprise yourself as an actor but you also have to surprise yourself as a character.”

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Headey said that she eventually came round to understanding Cersei’s way of thinking, claiming she’s “the ultimate survivor”.

“There’s something to play in all of it,” she said. “Cersei is such the ultimate survivor in all of this. She refuses to fall to her knees. She goes to the place where she doesn’t want to go, which makes it more powerful sad because of who she’s not with [Jamie].”

After sleeping together, Euron threatened to impregnate Cersei. However, fans will remember she’s already pregnant with her brother Jamie’s baby. At least she claims she is.