Game Of Thrones Season 4: 10 Actors Who Knocked It Out The Park

6. Lena Headey €“ Cersei Lannister

As Tyrion once said, the only good quality about Cersei (aside from her cheekbones) was that she loved her children, and so it proved this season. The King's Landing's plotline was mainly concerned with the ramifications of Joffrey's death, and it was Cersei who did most of the dramatic heavy lifting in this regard. Simply put, the Queen Regent was out for vengeance on behalf of her deceased son, and unfortunately, it was her little brother who bore the brunt of her ire. Her misplaced quest once again showed us exactly why Lena Headey was GRRM's first choice to play the Lady of Casterly Rock €“ under Headey's aegis, Cersei was terrifying in her single-minded determination, and brutal in her rationale to pursue it no matter what the cost. The smirking villainess will probably take up the mantle of antagonist-in-chief now her son and father have shuffled off the mortal coil, and the actress certainly looks up for the challenge. Naturally though, the best villains must have more than one dimension, and so it was with Cersei. Again, she loves her children, and her resolve to protect her son and melancholy over her missing daughter gave Headey plenty of chances to showcase her gargantuan acting chops. Her performance turned what could've otherwise been a straightforward hateful character into something that, if nothing else, was understandable in her motives. Yet in every other regard, she's pretty much the definition of a vicious bitch. But then again, that's Cersei for you, and we wouldn't have it any other way.