“Other than childbirth, it was the worst day of my life.”
And, apparently, to film as well. Actor Hannah Waddingham, who played Unella, one of the Septa of the Faith of Seven that served under the High Sparrow — we’ll give you a sec to refresh your memory — recalled a certain scene she had to film that turned into “the worst day of [her] life.”
Darren Bell / Getty Images for ABA
In the season six finale of the show, Cersei Lannister, played by Lena Headey, gets revenge on Unella for previously shaming her during the infamous walk of atonement scene.
Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO
Cersei, when she’s freed, then tortures Unella by waterboarding her.
Hannah recalled getting updates about the scene as she was on her way to film, one of which being she was now required to wear a wetsuit.
“I was, strapped to a wooden table with proper big straps for ten hours. Other than childbirth, it was the worst day of my life. Lena was uncomfortable pouring liquid on my face for that long and I was beside myself.”
Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO
“In those moments you have to think ‘Do you serve the peace and get on with it?’ Or do you chicken out and go, no, this isn’t what I signed up for.”
Hannah later told her costar Eugene Simon (Lancel Lannister) that scene was torturous to film.
“I had no voice at all to barely whisper, bruises already coming up like I’d been attacked. I was like, ‘I’ve basically just been waterboarded for ten hours.'”
“Mate, I’ve just been crawling through shit for four days on my elbows. You haven’t been in Game of Thrones unless you’ve been really, really battered around.”
Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO
Hannah now stars in the Apple TV+ original series Ted Lasso where she’s no longer waterboarded on set.
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