Lena Headey "never felt beautiful" when she was younger.
The Game of Thrones star, 52, has opened up about her life in the spotlight and confessed she spent years feeling "uncomfortable" about her appearance and didn't feel better when she realised other people saw her as attractive.
She told The Telegraph newspaper: "When I was younger, I felt really uncomfortable. I never felt beautiful. And so when people thought of me like that, I felt a real tightness. I wondered: 'What are they expecting?'
"Because I didn’t feel like that. But the joy of getting older is that it’s not about being a thing for somebody else. Instead you just want to do the thing for you and for other women. Such as tell the sorts of stories that women want to hear."
Lena also admitted she's glad she'd already had a taste of fame before she landed her huge role of Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, but she's adamant being thrust into the spotlight didn't actually give her the career boost she expected.
She said: "Thrones was mega, and I don’t think anyone expected it, but thankfully it wasn’t my first job, so it didn’t make me nuts. I was famous for a second, and all I found was that, yes, I could suddenly get a good table in a restaurant, and all the knobby things that come with it, but we put so much f****** weight into fame. We equate it with greatness, and that’s just not true."
She added: "You might think that [it would have given me a career boost] but I’ve been knocking on doors for years now. Yes, the door opens, but it opens for a certain amount of time.
"If you don’t get in, you’re back to the bottom of the pile. It’s as though on some level [if you are a woman,] the power must always be maintained. The Golden Age of TV is still very much for men, and we should be honest about that."
Lena was previously blasted by fans for using a body double for Game of Thrones' memorable scene when Cersei was forced to walk naked through the streets of King's Landing.
The actress hit back at the claims at the time, telling Entertainment Weekly: "Some people thought I was less of an actress because I didn’t get my t*** out.
"You know what? 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. 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. I didn’t want to be angry. I don’t think Cersei would be angry.
"I did what I thought she would do, emotionally. And wonderful Rebecca [Van Cleave, Headey’s stand-in] 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. 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."
