Lena Headey was “gutted” that she missed the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere after she fell ill.
The Cersei Lannister actress was forced to cancel her appearance at the eighth and final GoT premiere event in New York City on Wednesday, April 3, but she was sure to update fans in colorful language about why she wouldn’t be there to say goodbye to the beloved popular HBO series.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Taking to Instagram before the rest of her co-stars hit the red carpet for the premiere, Headey revealed that she had fallen ill and would not be able to attend, though she encouraged others to “ride forth into the night.”
“Gutted. Heartbroken and f–ed off, still doesn’t cover my disappointment at not being able to travel to NYC for our final prem tonight. I f–ing hate being sick and the timing of this is a s– bag. But .. S8 is the tits and so are all my cast mates and crew mates and creators… so RIDE FORTH INTO THE NIGHT AND CREATE MAYHEM … Love you beauties,” Headey captioned the photo, adding a string of star and heart emojis.
Although away from them, her GoT co-stars still showered her with love and well wishes in the comments section of her post.
“WE LOVE AND MISS YOU MAMMA you’re here in spirit!!!!!!” her onscreen rival Emilia Clarke, who portrays Daenerys Targaryen, wrote, adding a series of heart and fire emojis. Her show of support came just after Headey voiced her support and love after Clarke revealed she had suffered two life-threatening brain aneurysms.
Grey Worm actor Jacob Anderson also shared the love, writing, “you were there in our hearts.”
Headey, who has starred on the series since its debut back in 2011, finished filming her final scenes back in July, something that she told Huffington Post was an extremely emotional experience.
“It was [sad], yeah,” she told the outlet. “I thought I wasn’t going to let myself get to that point because I had the last day to get through. And then when I left and I got in the car, I broke down in tears and I was, yeah, devastated.”
As for how the story ends for Cersei Lannister, Headey said that she was “absolutely satisfied.”
Game of Thrones‘ six-episode eighth and final season, which is set to run a total of 410 minutes, premieres on Sunday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
Most Viewed
-
A ring of vibrant marigold flowers with glowing candles at the center, set against a dark background. (Credit: Eduardo Monroy Husillos / Getty Images) -
Photo Credit: CBS -
CBS Presents Sheriff Country ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -
Photograph by Warrick Page/Max -
NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images)
