Game of Thrones star Lena Headey was shocked by the criticism she received after a body double replaced her for a key nude scene in the popular show.
In season five, Lena’s character Cersei Lannister had lengthy scenes of nudity during the walk of shame, to atone for her incestuous affair with her twin brother.
The actress decided to use a body double instead of stripping off, and shockingly received backlash from Game of Thrones fans for protecting her modesty.
The 42-year-old was pregnant at the time of the shoot in Croatia and opted to have another actress stand in for her, so producers used computer-generated imagery to superimpose Headey's head onto Rebecca Van Cleave's naked figure.
"(There were some) really great (reactions)," she told Entertainment Weekly, 'but some people thought I was less of an actress because I didn't get my t**s out."
Headey admitted she didn't feel she would be in the right place emotionally to pull off the long shoot and said her role as a mum also played into her decision.
"It was really a bit shocking. 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. In order to do my job, I allow myself to be really vulnerable. I don't know any other way to do my job. Things really affect me.
"The thought of being naked for three days and trying to contain her (Cersei) in the way she would be, I think I would feel very angry... and wonderful Rebecca was able to contain herself and be naked. She found it very difficult, obviously. It's not a natural thing to do."
"I film every year and I have kids and they know me now and (being naked in the scene) was just too much on top of that," she added. "So yeah, people that get it thought it was great. I didn't phone it in; I was actually there for three days with Rebecca."
Van Cleave previously defended Headey over her decision not to shoot the controversial scene, insisting fans should only be concerned about the final cut.
