Hannah Waddingham details “horrific” ‘Game of Thrones’ scene she hated
Hannah Waddingham, best known for starring in the Apple TV+ hit Ted Lasso, has reflected on appearing in Game of Thrones and explained her issues with one “horrific” scene.
The British actor appeared as Septa Unella in eight episodes of the iconic HBO series between 2015 and 2016. Most notably, her character who is a member of the Most Devout, is maliciously attacked by Cersei Lannister, portrayed by Lena Headey, who waterboards Unella in a revenge assault.
While this made for an important scene in the series, Waddingham detested filming it, which took an entire day and had a longterm effect on her psyche. However, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make for the benefit of Game of Thrones, but nevertheless, it still remains a memory the actor has no wishes to recreate.
Waddingham, who is set to star opposite Ryan Gosling in upcoming movie The Fall Guy, recounted the harrowing ordeal during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on March 30th. “Thrones gave me something I wasn’t expecting from it and that is chronic claustrophobia,” she told the host.
The actor continued: “I have talked about it since with David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the two exec producers on it, I was like, ‘Good job it’s for them because it was horrific.'”
While Colbert was shocked by the revelation, Waddingham did also have positive remarks to share about her time on the show, noting: “The cinematography, for a series, it’s just a different level. With that comes actual waterboarding.”
Elaborating further on the waterboarding scene, she added: “So, I’m strapped to a table with all these leather straps, and I couldn’t lift up my head, because they said that (it would be) too obvious that it’s loose.”
She continued: “And I couldn’t speak ’cause The Mountain had his hand on my mouth when I was screaming, and I had strap marks everywhere like I’d been attacked. And the lift doors open, one of the other guys who’d been shooting something else was just like, ‘What has happened to you?’ and I told him everything and he went, ‘Well, you’re lucky. I’ve just been crawling through shit on my elbows for four days.'”
Despite the frightening ordeal she endured while working on Game of Thrones, Waddingham played a pivotal, yet small, part in the game changing television series that became a cultural institution.
Furthermore, Waddingham previously revealed that she was able to keep the iconic ‘shame bell’ her character used on Lannister while parading her through the King’s Landing. Although it led to an unwanted familiarity with claustrophobia, the experience wasn’t all bad for Waddingham.
Watch Waddingham on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert below.
