Wait, Lena Headey made how much per minute for playing Cersei in Game of Thrones?

game of thrones

Game of Thrones season eight is here and we’re obsessed, with our days now dominated by Westeros news and updates, from the emergence of the teaser trailer to theories about who is going to end up on the iron throne.

Two characters who have made the most noise since the airing of the most recent episode are the two Queens, Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister.

But while Daenerys has become a conversation topic for her character’s downward spiral, burning King’s Landing and killing thousands of innocent civilians after the Lannister army had surrendered, Cersei has been talked about for what she hasn’t been doing.

The iconic character has been missing in action, spending most of season eight staring through a window drinking wine - something that let’s face it she does better than anyone.

Cersei Lannister

(Image credit: HBO)

It’s hardly surprising though that when her eye-watering pay for season eight was revealed, people were a little surprised - for looking into the distance and drinking from a goblet.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, leading actors Lena Headey, Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau all received around $1.2 million per episode.

Given therefore that the final season is set to have a running time of 432 minutes and Lena is reported to have only featured in about 25 minutes of the final selection, fans have worked out that she was making $48,000 per minute.

Ummm. If Game of Thrones is ever being remade, we ALL volunteer to play Cersei.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.