Game of Thrones star Lena Headey is facing a lawsuit over a cut role from Thor: Love and Thunder, and other projects she had lined up. According to Variety, the actress is facing a $1.5 million lawsuit by her former talent agency Troika, with the U.K. firm claiming they are owed unpaid commissions from the Marvel film and others tied to Headey.
As Variety notes, Troika rebranded as YMU in 2020, with Headey joining in 2005 when her personal representative jumped ship to join. The rep, Michael Duff, co-founded the agency and later helped merge it with James Grant Group in 2017. A year later it was acquired by a private equity firm, rebranded as YMU, and Duff was soon on his way out, with Headey following in 2020.
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The sticking point according to court documents obtained by Variety is that Headey allegedly owes the agency fees under her prior agreement’s terms. In addition, Headey reportedly owes $300,000 for the film 9 Bullets, and $650,000 got the Showtime dramedy, Rita. The latter never made it to the screen past the pilot phase, while Headey’s role in Thor: Love and Thunder ended up cut as part of the efforts to bring the film down from its 4-hour runtime.
Headey disputes the lawsuit, including that Troika is owed any of the money they claim from the Marvel blockbuster releasing next week or with 9 Bullets. Neither project was negotiated by Duff or by Troika, with the court documents noting that Headey is also represented by CAA in the United States.
The actress also notes that she was only paid $325,000 for the pilot episode of Rita before the project was nixed. Out of that, Troika was paid $22,750 according to the actress. If any of that gives you a headache, you’re surely not alone.
Headey’s Thor role was not revealed before the court filing. According to Variety, Headey was confirmed to be removed from the film, with her cameo falling to the cutting room floor. There’s no real inkling about whom she was set to play, but we can assume she might’ve been one of the many on Olympus alongside Russel Crowe’s Zeus. Thor: Love and Thunder will hit theaters next week. Headey can most recently be seen in Gunpowder Milkshake on Netflix, while her voice was lent to the newest Masters of the Universe cartoon as Evil-Lyn. She also is set to portray Watergate mastermind E. Howard Hunt’s wife Dorothy in the upcoming five-part mini-series The White House Plumbers on HBO.
