'Terminator' star plays HBO's 'Game of Thrones'

Lena Headey

Credit: Matt Sayles/AP

After spending the past two years playing the mother of humanity's savior, Lena Headey is ready to play royalty herself.

According to Friend of HitFix Mo Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, the "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" star has been cast as Queen Cersei Lannister in HBO's "Game of Thrones."

The adaptation of the first book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series will begin shooting its pilot in Northern Ireland in late October, with Tom McCarthy ("The Station Agent") directing from a script by  David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

The books, which weave fantasy elements and political intrigue, revolve around a multi-family, multi-generational conflict over the ability to rule the Seven Kingdoms. Four books in the series have been published thus far and fans of the franchise are already champing at the bit for "Game of Thrones" to go from pilot to series.

Headey's character, Cersei, is bride to King Robert (Mark Addy). Her brothers Tyrion and Jaime, each with ample ulterior motives beyond servile loyalty and mere sibling-love, are played by Peter Dinklage and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

Sean Bean plays Ned Stark, the King's trusted ally, with Jennifer Ehle as his wife Catelyn.

Headey is no stranger to playing queens. Before playing the non-robotic title character in "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," she played Guinevere in the 1998 "Merlin" telefilm and managed to stand out as Queen Gorgo in the green screen smash "300."