Lena Heady Talks “The Trap”

Speaking with Lena Headey: A Conference Review

By Marisela Perez Maita

On a sunny Friday at 800 Congress Ave. in the capital of Texas, a long line of people awaited for the Austin Film Festival conference to start. One line in particular led to Lena Headey, who would later be premiering the extended version of her short film The Trap (2019), that same weekend. The excitement to know and to listen to Heady was felt in the air at the Austin Film Festival where most of the attendees were either cinema buffs or storytellers looking for insights, inspiration or advice to bring creative projects to life.

As part of the festival, AFF invites and welcomes artists across the globe to share their work in five Austin theaters and engage in conferences that explore a variety of topics of the film world. The conference with Lena Headey counted with the AFF’s Executive Director Barbara Morgan, who conducted the conversation and interview. Headey’s outgoing yet laid-back personality and Morgan’s expertise in interviewing made them look like long-time friends catching up on just another sunny afternoon. The effect was added to by Headey’s dry humor and honesty in most of her responses. 

The first part of the interview explored the journey of making Headey’s short film, The Trap. The film is a psychological drama that explores motherhood, love and loneliness through a character-driven story. It stars her former Game of Thrones co-star Michelle Fairley as well as actor James Nelson Joyce, known for the TV series Little Boy Blue.

She chose both actors to show the British essence of her short film,  “I wrote about a small town where I grew up [that] has been always portrayed as hideous, so I wanted to show how fucking gorgeous it actually is” Headey said.

As co-stars and long-time friends, Headey knew the talent and performance that Fairley brings to the screen, and she found Nelson Joyce through a friend’s recommendation, “He has the other key role in this film, and there’s a tremendous dynamic between those two characters. They are brilliant actors.”

For Headey it was important that her directing reflected what she considered truthful and meaningful as well, “I made the small film about the people that I wanted to make, so it was important to me to work with working-class actors and this variety of voices and accents” Headey said. 

Lena Headey debuted her acting career at 17 years old with the film The Clothes in the Wardrobe (1992), back when the industry was smaller and it was easier to make indie films according to Headey. She grew up with the films of Ken Loach, John Casabetti, and Pedro Almodovar. Creators she admires deeply for the authenticity they bring to their work and set.

The inspiration to write the story came when she was pregnant and experienced the fear of unconditional love, “Once you prepare to be a mother, you wonder if love is really unconditional. If you would really sacrifice everything for another person,” Headey said.

“For me, The Trap is a love story in reverse.” From here the public was very interested in her writing process. One person asked if she thought of a cast when she was writing her script or if she thought of it as real people she would try to attract, to which she responded that writing for her is like “A cat eating a mouse.”

“If I’m going to give this script to somebody, they need to want to play with it and eat it.” Headey said, followed by laughs at her effective metaphor. Working with actors as an actor, Headey said she understands the vulnerability, hard work and even laziness that comes with the work of acting. “I believe there is a way of talking to actors that will elicit something else. They speak a different language than anyone else. You have to know how to ask. To help them feel safe enough to explore what wouldn’t be there otherwise,” Headey said.

Exploring that actor-director interaction and connecting emotions is what drew her to switch to filmmaking, and the audience loved Headey’s honest reflections, “It’s not easy raising money for an indie film. It’s a tough market” she said, adding later about how it still paid off, “We did this film in three weeks and it was fucking mental. And yet it was the most joyful three weeks of my life because you’re managing hails, but it’s creative.” 

Headey’s favorite scenes to direct were the quiet moments. The peaceful scenes where Fairley wandered in solitude or stared in deep contemplation among green, comforting woods. But quietness also meant sorrow and sadness, crucial moments that added to the character’s development. The actors’ vulnerability played a big role in these scenes, and Headey said that when there’s respect, silence and time, actors have space to find what they need, “We never got time to explore James’ character’s vulnerability [before they started rolling], so it was really important to me to bring him into that part of being while making the film.” 

Moreover, Morgan asked her how much the editing process affected the script’s storytelling, and Headey took the chance to describe the humble first “film” impression when she met with the editor, “I spent two hours crying about how I much I hated the short film” Heady said as she imitated a weep, “But after some words of wisdom from my team, we got together and made [edited] the film in two days,” Headey said. “We changed a lot of the sequences of the movie. Editing is a place where you learn a lot about your work and storytelling.” 

Many of the questions came from film students, laughing along and nodding their heads as Headey talked about her struggles in the film industry. One of the questions came from a Radio Television Film (RTF) student who wondered how she dealt with the “condescending treatment” towards women filmmakers. Headey said she dealt with many producers who looked at her work as a trivial project, which made her feel close to quitting her vision, “You need to keep going, and not let that mess you up.” 

Headey added a last piece of advice for those in the public who were making their way through the competitive industry, “My only advice is to find a ferocious, loyal, smart producer who protects your creativity and wants to see your vision through.” Just as she did with her producer who helped her accomplish her vision, “You’re just finding endless solutions. When you have a low budget and this big dream, but you can’t do it so you make it a smaller dream, but it works out.” Headey said. 

Making The Trap made Headey realize there was no turning back to her acting career. She has found her new passion, and even if at the moment she finds work as an actress, she said she is planning to direct for the next 20 years of her life. Like any filmmaker, Headey is a modern storyteller with a tenacious passion to create and show original work. You can watch her short film, The Trap, on the streaming service Mubi.