Actress Natalie Dormer may have scored a win this weekend in Mockingjay: Part I, but to most fans, she’s still known as Margaery Tyrell on Game Of Thrones. For the most part, her portrayal of the social and political climber hasn't caused a lot of waves, but apparently, there was a behind-the-scenes issue that caused some controversy with showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff on the set.
During Season 4, following the cringe-worthy scene between Margaery and the newly designated boy-king Tommen Baratheon, the seasoned actress had some real problems with the interaction between the two characters on Game of Thrones. After reading the scene, Dormer phoned the showrunners to voice her concerns about the overall vibe of the scene between her and the de-facto king.
"That scene was altered because I phoned Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff] and said, 'I’m not comfortable doing this.' It’s the nature of the beast that I’m four years into playing Margaery Tyrell and the big plot points of the book are in stone. You can’t change them. George R.R. Martin wrote a particular plot line, so on the specifics of Margaery and Tommen getting married, there’s nothing I can do. On the show, we had to find a way to navigate that in a sensitive way. There’s more of it next season too, and we’re trying to handle it with intelligence, and integrity."
For those that have read the George R.R. Martin tomes, there is a constant struggle between the books and the HBO show and finding out what works and plays well on the small screen and what does not translate well from the written word. Dormer has become a fan favorite with her conniving and cunning ways and although she plays the part perfectly, having seduced Joffrey and now seemingly having her sights on Tommen, the actress also tells The Daily Beast she is ready for a change of characters and scenery.
“I love those women that I play that have sexual power. But I’m trying to step away from it for me, and for my artistic growth. It’s also more who I am. I’m not that woman.”
Still, Dormer does one hell of a job playing the subtle femme fatale that is slowly climbing the throne of Westeros. She seems to want to stretch out her talents in King's Landing so she is more than a pawn on the chessboard. We'll find out when Game of Thrones hits the schedule this spring.
