Lena Headey was mortified when a nurse quoted ‘Game of Thrones’ while helping her breastfeed.
The 42-year-old actress – whose alter ego in the HBO drama, Cersei Lannister, was ‘shamed’ during the season five finale by having to walk through the streets of King’s Landing naked as punishment for adultery – was getting to grips with nursing her baby daughter in the days after she was born last July and couldn’t believe what happened when she sought some lactation advice from hospital staff.
Speaking to ‘Late Late Show’ host James Corden, Lena – who also has six-year-old son Wylie with ex-husband Peter Loughran – recalled: "In the early stages of breastfeeding, you have to kind of get the milk in, that takes a bit of ‘hand milking’ of sorts.
"So my fella was trying to do it and the nurse said to me, ‘I think we should swap,’ and I went, ‘Yeah,’ because I was about to punch him because it was like milking a goat.
"She came around and sat next to me and squeezed my nipple and went, ‘Shame.’
"She was holding my nipple so I couldn’t really — and then she said it again and then I saw her go, ‘I’m sorry!’ She was like, ‘I can’t believe I said that!’ "
The British actress – who has not disclosed the name of her daughter or the identity of his father – recently explained why she used body double Rebecca Van Cleave for her infamous nude scene, insisting she wouldn’t have been in the right frame emotionally if she’d done it herself.
She said: " I’ve done nudity. I’m not adverse to it. But I know I’m a very emotional actor and I get really driven by that. In order to do my job, I allow myself to be really vulnerable.
"I don’t know any other way to do my job. Things really affect me.
"And the thought of being naked for three days and trying to contain her in the way she would be I think I would feel very angry. I didn’t want to be angry. I don’t think Cersei would be angry. I did what I thought she would do, emotionally.
"And wonderful Rebecca was able to contain herself and be naked. She found it very difficult, obviously. It’s not a natural thing to do."