“I hate it, basically”: Lesley Manville really can’t stand ‘Game of Thrones’
When Paul Thomas Anderson released Phantom Thread in 2017, everybody was keen to talk about the outstanding performance of Daniel Day-Lewis.
While this praise was all warranted (it usually is with DDL), let’s not overlook his dance partners. Lesley Manville plays Cyril Woodcock, the sister of Day-Lewis’ character. Her performance as an oppressed woman living in the shadow of her famous brother earned her an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ and is just one of the many great turns she has given in her time.
As well as dominating the big screen, Manville has also been part of some truly phenomenal TV shows. She played Princess Margaret (with whom she had a strange near-miss in real life) in seasons five and six of The Crown, earning nominations for an Emmy and a SAG in the process. She recently appeared in the much-discussed Netflix series Monster: The Ed Gein Story and, for fans of British soaps, she played Rosemary Kendall in 79 episodes of Emmerdale Farm.
Given she’s been involved in so many influential series (and Emmerdale), her opinion on the ‘idiot box’ is greatly coveted. The Guardian sought her views in a 2023 interview, in which she dropped a bombshell about one of the biggest shows of the 21st century. When discussing the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, she revealed that it wasn’t her cup of tea, which is putting things mildly.
“I hate it, basically,” she said, “I get offended by it. I really think it’s bad news. People talk about Game of Thrones. I’ve never been able to watch it. Also, it’s pretty violent towards women. I really don’t want to see that.”
These comments come off the back of Manville’s general opinion about watching violence, which she said she “can’t watch”, and with that in mind, it’s no surprise that she isn’t a fan of George RR Martin’s world of bloody battles and dragon’s fire.
Her views about the women on the show are particularly interesting as well, where, in line with the show’s medieval-adjacent setting, the females of Westeros are routinely put through the wringer. One thinks of Cersei Lannister being forced to walk naked through the streets, or Joffrey Baratheon murdering sex workers for fun, or the incredibly uncomfortable scene between Sansa Stark and Ramsay Bolton, which was condemned by many for going too far.
“Being a woman is a political position,” Manville continued, “You need to understand what’s going on, the risks, what you’re up against”, and while this is obviously true and a very potent statement, it does feel like she is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
While Game of Thrones doesn’t treat its women well all the time, it has also provided some of the most well-rounded and iconic female TV characters of all time. Cersei ends up as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, while Arya Stark grows from a timid little girl into a fierce warrior capable of killing the Night King, and then there’s the entire arc that Daenerys Targaryen goes on…up until the final season, but we don’t talk about that.
