One of the great things about Game of Thrones was that it featured some of the strongest female characters ever. Memories will always be etched with characters like Emilia Clarke‘s Daenerys Targaryen and Lena Headey‘s Cersei Lannister. Additionally, we’re fairly certain that the audience still remembers Michelle Fairley‘s superb portrayal of Catelyn Stark, a formidable character. Lena Headey once wrote a character with Fairley in her mind.
The Trap’s protagonist was written for Michelle Fairley
Headey once created a short film titled ‘The Trap’ in 2019, with Fairley at its center. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “We are great mates. I hunted her down, made her drink with me, and we’ve got a lovely friendship. I used to watch Michelle and she’s such a f**king beautiful actress, and I love her face. So I wrote this with her in mind. I wanted to be able to do all the things.”
“I had offers along the way to do the film with big names. But no. This film is what I love about British cinema. It’s working-class actors. There are accents. It has all the little things we don’t look at,” she explained. “And I was like, f**k it – I’m just going to do the film that I know I want to make with the people I want to make it with.”
Michelle Fairley wasn’t the first choice for Catelyn Stark
That character became a favorite among the audience in large part because of Michelle Fairley. But as it turns out, Jennifer Ehle—rather than Michelle Fairley—was initially selected to play the role.
Ehle was supposed to play Catelyn Stark in the Game of Thrones pilot, which had already been filmed. Unfortunately, the network did not think well of the pilot, so it had to be reshot with a new director and cast. Since Ehle had recently become a mother, she felt it would be premature to reshoot her sequence.
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