The Prop Hannah Waddingham Kept From The Set Of Game Of Thrones

Fans know actor Hannah Waddingham as the big-hearted manager of AFC Richmond in Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso." But she had a darker role before she was ever chatting with Ted and Keeley Jones over biscuits in the breakroom. Per IMDb, Waddingham played "Shame Nun" Septa Unella, a devoted follower of the High Sparrow, in Seasons 5 and 6 of "Game of Thrones." Because she wore a habit and had her head covered, the actor wasn't easily recognizable. "I loved [working on 'Game of Thrones'] because it meant I could just sit sleeping in the trailer for hours on end, look like I'd been dug up, and they'd say, 'Yeah, that looks great,'" Waddingham joked on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Another plus from her time on "Thrones?" Waddingham's friendship with Lena Heady, aka Cersei Lannister. Though their characters were mortal enemies on the show and they shared several intense scenes together, they are close IRL. "I have to say one thing that the traumatic experience [of filming] ... gave us was that you and I absolutely [became incredibly close]," Waddingham said in conversation with Heady, per Entertainment Weekly. "And I was really nervous joining you because you were like queen lady of the ladies and I was some nobhead who had popped a baby out nine weeks previously."

Waddingham and Headey remain good friends to this day. Their relationship reminds Waddingham of filming "Thrones," but there's another memento that keeps her closely anchored to the show.

Fans will remember that Hannah Waddingham's most-memed moment in "Game of Thrones" was shepherding a naked Cersei Lannister through the streets of King's Landing, ringing a bell, and shouting "Shame!" Therefore, it makes sense that Waddingham actually kept the iconic "Shame Bell," as she explained on an episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show." "That's when you know that your character is really dead, when they give you the hero thing. 'And thank you very much and goodbye,'" the actor said. Clarifying that she received the bell as a gift, versus taking it from the set, Waddingham sadly kept quiet about where exactly she stashed the bell in her house.

Also during the interview, Clarkson congratulated Waddingham for starring in such big-name series, between "Thrones" and "Ted Lasso." "I've been very lucky that these huge shows have just gone 'come in and do this,'" the actor replied. Clearly, Waddingham has proven that she's a versatile performer, both on the stage and on our screens. (It's easy to forget that "Ted Lasso"'s Rebecca has anything in common with "Thrones"' Septa Unella ... unless Rebecca starts yelling "Shame" at her AFC Richmond squad.)

Next up, the Emmy winner has her eye on a completely different kind of role: that of the superhero genre. "All the Marvel characters are magnificent," Waddingham told Variety. "I want to be one that absolutely busts everyone's balls but looks fabulous doing it."

Hannah Waddingham (as Septa Unella) seemed invincible during Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister)'s Walk of Shame, but in true "Thrones" fashion, Cersi got her revenge. Septa Unella's demise was pretty grisly: a "wineboarding" scene that faded to black on the sound of her screams. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Waddingham called the whole thing "the worst day of my life," other than childbirth. "Lena was uncomfortable pouring liquid in my face for [10 hours], and I was beside myself. But in those moments, you go, 'Do you serve the piece and get on with it?' Or do you chicken out and go, 'This isn't what I signed up for,'" she said.

However, she later clarified her words to Yahoo! Entertainment, telling the outlet that she would "100% do it again." "It makes amazing television. Was it massively uncomfortable, and easily the worst day other than my grueling childbirth? Yes," she said. Given the physically demanding nature of the scene, it's unsurprising that Waddingham chose to instead commemorate her time on set with the Shame Bell, rather than, say, a wine goblet.

Despite all the challenges of filming, her friendship with Headey is one of the best things to come out of the show. In 2021, Headey threw support behind her one-time nemesis when Waddingham won an Emmy for her work on "Ted Lasso." "Could not have happened to a more GLORIOUS RAD HUMAN," Headey captioned an Instagram post of Waddingham posing in a pink gown.