For a show occupying the bizarre niche genre of horror/fantasy/historical fiction on a premium cable network that premiered back in 2011 with a young boy being thrown off of a tower by a knight sworn to celibacy who’d been caught in flagrante delicto with his twin sister who also happened to be the queen, HBO’s Game of Thrones has become a phenomenally popular juggernaut of a series. Twenty years ago, who could have guessed that one of the biggest success stories for the small screen would be born of an ill-timed incestuous rendezvous between a knight and his queen? Certainly, nobody could have predicted that the role of the queen would be so nuanced over five seasons as to warrant the talents of two actresses.
Season 6 will bring on a third.
The queen in question has been one of the most fascinating characters of the series. Played to perfection by Lena Headey for five seasons thus far, Cersei has risen and fallen in power and prestige from the very beginning. Crippled by love, lust, and more than a touch of crazy, Cersei always manages to entertain.
Season 5 saw Cersei become the first main character to be featured via flashback as young Nell Williams took on the role of Cersei as a girl. Watchers On The Wall reports that Season 6 will see a third incarnation of the character.
Sort of.
Australian Essie Davis has been cast as the as-yet-unnamed actress in a troupe of performers who will take on the role of Cersei in-universe.
Although little is known of her at this point, the character has been described as “elegant,” “fun,” and “charismatic,” giving proof enough that Essie Davis’s Cersei will be a far cry from the Cersei that viewers have come to know. A fondness for spirits of the liquid variety seems to be the main point of crossover for their characters. Nevertheless, with Davis spotted sporting a yellow wig crimped into Cersei’s iconic curls and clad in garish shades of Lannister red and gold, there can be little doubt that a Cersei of sorts will be hitting the stage on Game of Thrones in Season 6.
Known for her work on The Babadook and the latter two films of the Matrix trilogy, Essie Davis joins a cast already swollen with so many characters that fan-constructed flow charts are not out of the realm of possibility. Even the occasional bloodbath battle or matrimonial massacre barely makes a dent in the ensemble, so Davis may not receive the most resounding welcome as a new face unless she makes a distinct impression. Who knows? Given the facts that she’ll be wearing blonde hair and resembling Cersei, maybe Jaime will be receiving a new love interest.
Or Cersei, really. An affair with a copy of herself would be less twisted than what she enjoyed with her twin for most of their lives, and at least there would be no risk of a Joffrey 2.0 without a man in the mix.
