‘Game Of Thrones’ Star Lena Headey Blasts EU Treatment Of Refugees


On Game of Thrones, Lena Headey plays one of the most unlikable villains to grace the small screen, and the character knows something about ruling the masses, all of which makes Headey’s comments on the treatment of EU refugees that much more poignant. Together with fellow Game of Thrones stars Maisie Williams and Liam Cunningham, Lena asked the European Union for mercy in their dealings with refugees attempting to gain access to the continent.

Game Of Thrones Stars Ask The EU To Grant Refugees Admission

While she may be a detestable tyrant on Game of Thrones, Lena Headey is the polar opposite in real life, feeling nothing but compassion and empathy for her fellow human beings, as was exemplified in the way Lena expressed herself over the treatment of refugees fleeing the war in Syria. According to News.com.au, Headey says the way European countries are treating these refugees seeking a safe haven is “utterly ridiculous,” adding that describing migrants as financial burdens and security threats is nothing short of deceptive grandstanding.

While in Greece, the 42-year-old Game of Thrones actress met with a Syrian mother of three on her way to reunite with her husband and the father of her children. The Syrian refugee had not seen her husband in 18 months and was traveling with her children to Germany, where they could all be reunited.

“These smart, hardworking people want to go home,” Lena said in a statement, following that meeting.

“They want to return to their communities and to their neighbourhoods. They want their children to continue their education. They want to continue their university and they are stuck. They’re stuck,” Headey added. “And they’re unbelievably sad. Understandably. We can do better for them. We must do better for them.”

Ms. Headey went with Maisie Williams and Liam Cunningham to visit refugee camps in Lesvos, as a part of a trip organized by the International Rescue Committee, a U.S. organization that works to provide relief to refugees.

“Where is the humanity that makes it acceptable for them to languish in refugee camps — in Europe,” asked Maisie Williams in a statement of her own.

Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth on HBO’s Game of Thrones, took it a step further by pointing out that these refugees are displaced because of man-made events. The homeless seeking refugee aren’t victims of floods, earthquakes, or other natural disasters, but because of the actions of politicians and military actions, says Cunningham, as he suggests the EU bears a responsibility for righting such a grievous wrong.

Game Of Thrones‘ Lena Headey Warns That Cersei Is Just Getting Started

Warning: Game of Thrones spoilers ahead!

Back on the set of Game of Thrones, Lena Headey filmed one of the most epic scenes in the entire Game of Thrones run, when she blew up literally everything in her move to rid Westeros of the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) and his religious order. While it may have seemed random and senseless to have had Cersei Lannister commit such an atrocious crime, Game of Thrones‘ executive producer David Benioff told E! Online that there was a definite reason for this madness. He says that as Game of Thrones moves forward, fans will see that, much like the Red Wedding, this was something that had to happen.

“I just couldn’t have seen all of that—I knew there was revenge to be had, obviously from last year, I’m still like this is crazy,” says Lena Headey, revealing that the scene also took her by surprise. “It’s like this pure enjoyment of wiping out all of them.”

Dave Hill, a writer on Game of Thrones, says the season finale was about showing a drastic change in Headey’s character as Season 6 ends. Cersei achieves everything she wanted, except that it has cost her the thing she loves most in the world, her son, Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman). Lena Headey’s Game of Thrones character has realized the prophecy she feared for so long, and as a result, she may be sitting on the Iron Throne, but it has cost her more bits of her soul.

“Now you have this woman who, I don’t know if its crazed, it’s think it’s just empty, which is probably more dangerous,” Headey said.

Season 7 of Game of Thrones is scheduled to premiere in April 2017.

[Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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