I took up boxing as a fitness thing. I got obsessed, and I would go every day when I wasn't working. It's just an insane sport when you get into it.
— Lena Headey
I've been working a long time, and mostly European films.
Having the tattoo itself is not really for the end result for me. I like having them done.
One day I was in school, and the next I was acting opposite Jeremy Irons. That's how quickly it happened. I was in class and then working with Sir Anthony Hopkins.
I miss that London thing of walking outside and bumping into mates and going, 'Do you want to get a pint?'
There's no snobbery in me.
I urge everyone - men, boys, women and girls - to join me in standing up for girls' rights with Plan U.K.
I almost never get recognised in the street.
I'd love to have played Joan of Arc. That would have been amazing.
I like to keep my personal life private.
I carry about eight lip balms: Burt's Bees, Rosebud Salve, Eos.
If I was into politics, I would be rich.
Nothing's ever allowed to just be entertaining. We have to talk about it.
'Dredd' was a weird little out-of-the-blue thing for me.
Cersei in 'Game of Thrones' is quite solid and stiff.
It's a feeling without a lid, of what you would do, physically, verbally, to protect the one thing that is your greatest love.
I worked in Tesco's staff canteen because I fancied a boy on the tills. I served him his lunch in a hairnet and tan tights. Not just that, of course - I had a lovely white onesie.
You couldn't get less royal than me.
I would love to work with Shane Meadows - great director.
I love the chance to train with someone like Mark Twight.
One day I can be ecstatically up, and the next, I can feel this real blankness, a deadness almost, which is scary.
Maybe you just don't see your own beauty.
I have a scary side of me.
Really, I still just think of myself as a Northerner, ultimately. It's in my DNA. I'll always have those Northern qualities. We can be mischievous. We can be bold.
I find 'Chainsaw' to be a very relaxing film.
I'd like to play Walter White, but I guess that's been done.
I always have scarves handy; they're my indulgence. I buy them at an L.A. shop called Lost & Found. I'll spray one with loads of my Byredo Gypsy Water perfume, put it on and be like, 'Ah, this feels good.'
I drink a lot of coffee.
I'm sad I'm not in 'The Purge 2.'
Getting older and having kids, you learn how to become less serious about it all.
I was never one of the cool kids who read '2000 AD.'
I could quite happily run a florist or a bake shop.
That scene in 'The Purge' where my kids, Mary's kids, are in danger was really crazy for me, because I suddenly... I have my methods as an actor, so I went to the place of 'If somebody came near my children, with bad intent?'
I don't think you should feel guilty about pleasure. Defeats the purpose.
I'm a tomboy. I used to get into a lot of fights. Don't know why - self-expression, I guess.
I don't take anything for granted.
I'm dreadful at schmoozing at Hollywood parties.
Some 'Terminator' fans are outraged that I'm playing Sarah Connor. They think I'm not muscly enough. To be honest, I'm a little tired of the comparisons to Linda Hamilton. I know she will always be the original Sarah Connor, but when people see what I bring to the role, they will look at her with new eyes.
I think I look slightly like a horse. Hand on heart, I think I'm pretty average.
I'm small but quite tough. When incensed, I can swing a punch.
I don't want to be owned by anyone.
There seems to be great roles for women, and it's not necessarily - you don't have to be young women. Suddenly, we're realizing that, generally, women are interesting, and they can also be weird and crazy and mean.
I'd love to do a comedy. Umm, I don't know when that will happen - maybe when I'm, like, 80 or something. But yeah, I'd love to. I'm just waiting for the right person to see my hilarious nature and offer me a comedy.
I usually bring along a bottle of kombucha, thinking, 'This will be really good for me.' But I never actually drink it. The fermented mushroom-y flavor is too intense for me.
I do what I do; I can't control who thinks what.
A lady of a certain age must keep her top on. That's what I feel.
People who never get anxious always amaze me. The world could be breaking up, and they're saying, 'Everything's fine!'
There is always that thought that you might get stuck with a character. But there's always the notion that every character is always evolving.
I've said from day one that I've got no problem with nudity. I've done it throughout my career.
It's amazing the things that you cry at. I cry when I smell my son's hair in the morning. We have a moment of peace and I'll be like, 'Ahhhh! How can you love this much?'
