Forget Cersei Lannister; Lena Headey Is at Her Most Diabolical in This Bloody, Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller

Lena Headey may be most remembered for her astonishing portrayal of Cersei Lannister, the conniving femme fatale on the hit HBO show Game of Thrones, as she captivated worldwide audiences for nearly a decade with her elegantly cruel demeanor. But portraying the iconic Lannister has not been her most ruthless or diabolical role by a long shot. That distinction would go to her turn as Ma-Ma in the bloody, dystopian sci-fi thriller Dredd, which hit theaters back in 2012. The film, directed by Pete Travis and written for the screen by a young Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation), also stars Karl Urban in the titular role and Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson, a rookie psychic who is paired with Dredd — a la Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in Training Day.

What Is ‘Dredd’ About?

In an overcrowded near-future world called Mega-City One, the law is enforced by a group of Judges. These highly trained cops police the crime-ridden streets as they try to maintain order. The population is so condensed that a number of high-rise apartment buildings called mega-blocks have sprung up with hoards of citizens packed inside. Dredd and Anderson are called to one in particular — the Peach Trees block, where the ruthless Ma-Ma has squashed all the rival gangs in the building and rules from the top few stories of that particular block.On top of her self-declared authority, she also maintains control of the production of the recreational drug Slo-Mo that has taken over the inner city.

Dredd and Anderson must deal with all of Ma-Ma’s henchmen and a group of mercenary Judges hired to protect her and her empire while navigating their way to the top few floors of the Peach Trees mega-block. Ma-Ma proves just how ruthless she is as innocent women and children are killed when she resorts to some heavy artillery to prevent Dredd and Anderson from making it out of the block alive. Seemingly unbothered by the murder of innocents, these events just showed a glimmer of the true darkness that Headey’s character is comprised of.

Lena Headey Embraces Her Character’s Dark Backstory in ‘Dredd’

When Lionsgate Films released Dredd in 2012, they made a companion comic book that explains how Ma-Ma ended up where she is at the start of the film and why she has such a diabolical and unethical code. Originally a psychotic sex worker for a pimp named Lester Grimes, Ma-Ma’s real name is Madeline Madrigal, and she has a boyfriend by the name of Eric. She started to work the streets at just sixteen, and Judge Dredd was the first to arrest her, charging her with solicitation. Still, it wasn’t until much later that she became the totally unhinged psychopath that the audience witnesses in Dredd. When she threatens to no longer work for Lester and run away with Eric, the pimp kills Eric and slashes Ma-Ma’s face, leaving her with a gnarly facial scarring on her right cheek. After a complete nervous breakdown and commitment to a psychiatric facility, she emerges as the untethered and disenfranchised cold-blooded killer we see in the film.

Despite her physical attributes, the British-born actress, Lena Headey, has always gravitated toward characters known for their strength, intelligence, and dynamism. So, it should come as no surprise that she fully immerses herself in the darkness and physicality of the ruthless drug kingpin. Along with her deep facial scar, Headey has a sprawling neck tattoo and has cut her hair short and unevenly to match the “devil may care” nature of Ma-Ma. What makes Headey’s portrayal so macabre and scary is much more than just the fact that she is an intimidating and sociopathic killer. She brings a thousand-yard stare to the character of Ma-Ma that adds to a dreadful feeling that she’s ultimately empty inside,— void of emotion, let alone empathy for anyone or anything. Many men who encounter Ma-Ma may often underestimate her, but she puts them in their place on her rise to the top of the Peach Trees block and as the doomed head of the drug-fueled underworld in Dredd.

Dredd is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.

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