Honestly Lena Headey
By Jennifer Kilchenmann
Source: G3 (UK) – March 6, 2006

Jennifer Kilchenmann sits down for g3 with the beautifully frank British star.

It’s a crisp, sunny morning in chic and fashionable Marylebone High Street. I am meeting Lena Headey, star of this month’s lesbian love-fest Imagine Me & You, in the healthy Aveda café.
She greets me with a killer smile and a truly honest and firm handshake. Lena explains she recently got back from a trip to India and a series of press junkets in New York.
Noticing her sun-kissed skin, and in true British fashion, our conversation begins with the weather, and how bloody freezing it is. “I was quite open to the idea of wrapping up a bit”, she says. “But now I’m over it.”

Lena is one of Britain’s most talented actresses, yet somehow it’s best kept secret. “Maybe when I was younger, I didn’t go for it as much as some. I was interested in living my life and figured I’d make it in my own way!” She fell into the profession in her late teens, after being “discovered” performing in a school play at the National Theatre. She has since acted in over 30 films and a number of TV shows. Director of Imagine Me & You, Ol Parker, recently said of Headey, “She’s beautiful, truthful and hilarious, without vanity or affectation, exceptionally clever.” Based on this meeting I couldn’t agree more. What makes Lena stand out is her instinctive approach, the way she will just blend into her character with honesty and realism. The most moving role she has played to date, and one that Lena herself is still passionate about, is that of Kaisa in Aberdeen. “I’m still upset Aberdeen was never released in the UK. I think I’m probably most proud of that. It was an awesome experience.”

Amidst much excitement, March 31st sees the release of Imagine Me & You, a lovely Brit rom-com all about love at first sight. This is a movie dear to Lena’s heart: “Everyone in it is just so lovely. I hadn’t felt that way about a project in a long time.” Ol Parker has managed to blend romance, realism and comedy into one film. He’s also been very lucky with his two leading ladies who have incredible on screen chemistry. Headey and Perabo met on the set of The Cave, a movie that both would prefer to forget about. Lena fondly remembers how she and Piper grew their friendship out of a necessary bond on “a pretty awful and wet shoot in Romania”. She confesses feeling lost when Piper had to leave the set before her. “It was the longest two weeks. I was so pissed with her!” Lena has learned her lesson about working on big, generally male-centered productions. In reference to The Brothers Grimm she admits “I’d rather stick an arrow through myself than go through that again! It was like a relationship where you know you’re not wanted!”

As Lena slurps through a rather green health-fest of a soup, she tells me about going to casting calls in LA. “There’s always these really beautiful women lined up outside. And I’m like – oh my god I feel like the biggest tomboy in the world!” To be fair, she is a little tomboyish, I mean would these LA chicks take up boxing? “I went through a phase where I used to go pretty much every day! At one point I did think – Fuck, if it all goes tits up, I’ll be boxing my face in the ring! Maybe I’ll get more roles!” she jokes. Apart from being a boxer, she’s pondered the idea of being a doctor. “I thought, I’ve still got time. I could do something more useful for the world. But then I’m lazy, and that’s a proper job!” As the PR woman approaches the table I manage to get my last question in (for all of you who have now fallen in love with her). “So Lena,” I say, “any chance of ever falling for a woman?”

A smile brightens across her face, “I would never say – never, I mean, it probably happened to me a few times…” Sorry girls, that’s lingo for I’m straight, but you’ve got to love her for keeping the door open, right.