‘Game Of Thrones’: Cersei’s Body Double Speaks Out

The emotion on Lena Headey’s face was gut-wrenching during her dramatic walk of shame in the “Game of Thrones” finale.

But everything from the neck down was all thanks to another actress.

And now, Rebecca Van Cleave is speaking out about being Cersei’s all-nude body double for the intense march through the streets of King’s Landing.

“It was one of the scariest, most wonderful, most gratifying experiences I could have imagined,” Rebecca told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview, of the scene. “I never in a million years would have thought I would be in Dubrovnik [in southern Croatia] surrounded by hundreds of extras and crew members throwing food at me, but it was amazing.”

Rebecca Van Cleave (IMDB)

To pull off the scene, which appeared to show Lena naked from head to toe, the “Thrones” special effects team merged the images of Lena’s face with Rebecca’s body for a seamless visual (think: a really, really good Jib Jab!).

And to get it just right, the actresses spent a lot of time together going through the gauntlet of emotions of the scene.

“Lena was so good about walking beside me and guiding me into what Cersei was thinking and the movements,” Rebecca told EW. “We were playing tag team — ‘You’re it!’ — and trying to make light of the fact we’re all covered in everything and going through this together.”

While Rebecca – who boasts only a few minor acting credits on her IMDb page – said baring all on set in front of 500 screaming extras wasn’t as bad as some might think, there were some parts that were harder than others.

“Particularly moments when I got all kinds of stuff thrown at me, with the chamber pots [being dumped out],” she explained. “Then on the last day, there was a well of emotion when she’s finally getting to the end and I was getting to the end too — not in a bad way, it’s almost like being one with the character.”

So what did Rebecca think when she saw the final product in real time, along with millions of “Thrones” fans during Sunday’s finale?

“It was very surreal and emotional, to be honest,” she added. “I had a good little cry afterward. Lena and I put so much into that scene and to see it all come together was really special.”

— Eric Anderson

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