Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn Dated Before Being Cast on ‘Game of Thrones’
Perhaps it should have come as no surprise that Game of Thrones sparked some real-life romances. After all, the cast often filmed in remote locations for months on end, so there was plenty of time to get to know one another intimately. The series also went on for an impressive eight-season run (though it ended disappointingly early for many fans).
Since the show included so many established actors, however, it should also perhaps come as no surprise that some of the people coming to the set had romances before being cast together on the show. That was the case for Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn, who dated long before the series began.
Lena Headey played Cersei Lannister and Jerome Flynn played Bronn
The sprawling cast of Game of Thrones included dozens of named actors with recurring speaking roles as well as a substantial ensemble cast that appeared in all or almost all of the show’s 62 episodes. Headey was one of those leading ladies who appeared — at least for a scene — every single time. As Cersei Lannister, Headey brought to life a complex, fiercely independent, and ultimately much-hated character.
Flynn’s part was not quite as substantial, but it was still a major role with an impressive character arc. As IMDb shows, Flynn appeared in a total of 37 episodes as Bronn, a skilled and feared hired sword. Audiences fell in love with his banter with Tyrion Lannister (played by Peter Dinklage) and found themselves torn over his questionable moral compass that had him hiring out his services to the highest bidder.
The plot of the winding series meant that many characters rarely — if ever — crossed paths, and Cersei and Bronn did not share much screentime. They did, however, share a scene that sparked rumors they had a feud leftover from the smoldering remains of a past relationship. As BuzzFeed speculated, the bad blood “would explain why Bronn randomly leaves the one scene they had.”
Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn once dated but denied any on-set feud
It’s true that Headey and Flynn had a former romance. The details of the relationship are not very clear, but Headey’s aunt confirmed the pair were involved sometime back in 2002. The press ran with the rumor that the pair’s former flame had caused them to be fiery enemies on set with outlets like The Telegraph and The Sun reporting that they couldn’t even be in the same room and refused to speak to one another!
Flynn appeared to put all those rumors to rest at a Con of Thrones appearance in 2019: “We were actually in the same scene together, and the last time I saw Lena we were speaking, so I wouldn’t believe everything you read, and like I said, [the media] can get pretty desperate for stories. Lena is a wonderful person and a wonderful actress. I think the world of her.”
Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn have moved on to other projects
Both Headey and Flynn saw boosts to their star power following the conclusion of Game of Thrones.
Headey has gone on to more TV work including providing voice acting for the miniseries Wizards and the show Masters of the Universe: Revelation. She also stars in the 2022 film 9 Bullets, a thriller in which she plays a burlesque dancer named Gypsy. Upcoming projects include the TV series The White House Plumbers and New-Gen.
Flynn, for his part, has appeared in The Dark Tower and The Trick, both TV movies.
As for love lives, if Flynn has been dating, he’s managed to keep it under wraps. Headey shares a daughter with director Dan Cadan, but the pair split back in 2018. Since then, she’s been linked to Ozark actor Marc Menchaca with several outlets — including PopSugar — suggesting the relationship has been getting serious.
