Key Highlights
- Hannah Waddingham experienced chronic claustrophobia after a ‘horrific’ scene in Game of Thrones.
- The actress compared the experience to waterboarding, describing it as 10 hours of being strapped down with a hand over her mouth.
- Waddingham shared her ordeal during an interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in 2024.
Hannah Waddingham’s Horrific Experience in Game of Thrones
Hannah Waddingham, best known for her role as Septa Unella in the iconic HBO series Game of Thrones, has revealed a harrowing experience that left her with chronic claustrophobia. This incident occurred during a particularly intense scene, one that she describes as “horrific.”
The Waterboarding Experience
“Thrones gave me something I wasn’t expecting from it and that is chronic claustrophobia because I had 10 hours, I mean I’ve talked about it since with David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the two producers on it,” Waddingham candidly shared during an interview. “It was horrific, 10 hours of being actually waterboarded, like actually waterboarded.”
Waddingham’s experience involved being strapped to a table, with her head immobilized by leather straps, while another character poured liquid over her face. She described the sensation as akin to being waterboarded, a technique used in interrogations and torture.
The Aftermath
“Because Thrones is such a, the reason why I don’t believe it’s touched yet in terms of the cinematography of it for a series, it’s just a different level,” Waddingham continued. “But with that comes actual waterboarding, so I’m strapped to a table with all these leather straps and I couldn’t lift up my head because I said that’s gonna be too obvious that it’s loose.”
Following the ordeal, Waddingham shared her experience with another actor in the lift. They joked about their shared trauma, with one saying, “Well you’re lucky, I’ve just been crawling through s*** on my elbows for four days!”
A Day Among the Worst
“I had purple, my hair’s already bleached to death, I had grape juice all in my hair so it went purple, I couldn’t speak because The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) had his hand over my mouth whilst I was screaming and I had strap marks everywhere like I’d been attacked,” she said.
Waddingham has described the day as one of the “worst” she’s ever experienced, even surpassing childbirth. She added that Lena Headey, who played Cersei Lannister, was uncomfortable pouring liquid over her face for such an extended period. Despite the distress, Waddingham emphasized the importance of serving the piece and moving on.
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