10 Best TV Performances Of 2016
2. Lena Headey - Game Of Thrones
Game of Thrones sixth season saw the series come roaring back to form - after a underwhelming (by its own ridiculously high standards) Season 5. The show made some big moves, and leading the charge were the women, with major developments and strong arcs for the likes of Daenerys, Arya, Sansa, and Yara.
Leading the way, though, was Cersei Lannister. Lena Headey has long been one of the show's strongest performers, even amongst such a talented ensemble, but her performance really stood out this year.
Cersei isn't an easy character to care for - in a world of heroes and villains, she comes down on the side of the latter - and Headey certainly imbues her with a sense of malevolence. She thirsts for power, and won't let anything stand in her way.
However, she underpins this with the clear devotion she has to her children, which stand as her saving grace and the reason we can still sympathise with her. She lost that in Season 6, with nothing left to stand in her way. Headey is a wonderfully expressive actor, one who says so much and cuts so deep with a single glance.
Throughout Season 6 we get to witness her quiet devastation, her desperation, her harrowing revenge, and tarnished joy. On this show, Headey really is the Queen.