Actress Hannah Waddingham has discussed her experience playing Septa Unella on HBO’s Game of Thrones before, but this week she opened up about the persistent effects of her time there. The Ted Lasso star played the religious leader who tortured Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) in Game of Thrones Season 5, and who was later tortured in retaliation. However, the stunt was coordinated properly and Waddingham said she still experiences the psychologically effects of that torture.
Waddingham appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday to promote her new movie The Fall Guy, where she bragged that she had done her own stunts, in a manner of speaking. Colbert pointed out that she already had a reputation for risky work from Game of Thrones, and Waddingham said: “Oh my God, yeah – there weren’t stunts, but Thrones gave me something I wasn’t expecting from it, and that is chronic claustrophobia. Because I had ten hours… of being actually waterboarded. Like, actually waterboarded.”
Waddingham said that she has discussed this experience with Game of Thrones co-showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss since then, and that was glad that she went through this “for them” and for this particular show. She said that the cinematography of the series is “just a different level, but with that comes actual waterboarding!”
Waddingham then detailed how she was restrained, screaming herself hoarse and nearly drowned in grape juice – which was meant to look like wine. “It kind of doesn’t matter when you’re in Thrones, you just want to give the best,” Waddingham concluded.
Septa Unella was Cersei’s jailer in Season 5 when she was held in a cell by the religious fanatics who had seized power in King’s Landing. She withholds food and water from Cersei, saying she will get a drink if she confesses to adultery and incest – punishable crimes against the church in this fantasy setting. Unella is also the figure walking behind Cersei during her infamous “walk of atonement” – ringing a bell and chanting “Shame!” while Cersei is forced to march naked from the Sept to the castle.
These iconic scenes mean that, while Waddingham’s role was ultimately small, she appears often in GIFs and memes related to Game of Thrones, and she is very memorable to fans. Cersei’s vengeance is memorable as well – once she has regained control of the city, Cersei has Unella imprisoned in the dungeon beneath the Red Keep. She takes an opportunity to torment the Septa with a villainous monologue, promising that she will be tortured for a long time before she is allowed to die. She leaves her in the care of her undead bodyguard, Ser Gregor Clegane.
This is all covered in one scene in the series, so fans have often Marveled that Waddingham needed to spend 10 hours strapped to the rack to film it. Waddingham stars in The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, which hits theaters on May 2. Game of Thrones is streaming now on Max.