Headey – most famous for playing Cersei in Game of Thrones – played Sweet Saraya, real name Julia Knight, in the film; released earlier this year.
The comedy-drama focussed on her daughter Paige; the record-breaking wrestling star, played here by Florence Pugh.
Speaking in a featurette going behind-the-scenes of the film, Headey spoke of the “pressure” she felt at playing a real person.
“I didn’t want to do a caricature of Saraya but I wanted to bring what she is at her core,” she explained.
“I watched a lot of her interviews aside from the documentary.
“I felt a lot of pressure actually, getting it right.”
Hamer-Bevis, however, was full of praise for Headey’s performance.
“She got the essence. She definitely did get the essence!” she enthused.
Meanwhile the film’s director, Stephen Merchant, said: “She’s not only physically different [to Nick Frost as Rowdy Ricky], she adds a sweetness and she brings a dramatic edge to it.”
Fighting With My Family was a success upon its release; winning a huge approval rating of 92% among critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
The consensus reads: “Much like the sport it celebrates, Fighting with My Family muscles past clichés with a potent blend of energy and committed acting that should leave audiences cheering.”
At the box office it fared decently too; making it to $39.1 million against a budget of $11 million.
Headey’s career after Game of Thrones is continuing to blossom: she was recently seen in the trailer for The Flood, a drama about an immigration officer who has to uncover whether or not an asylum seeker is lying.
That, in fact, is something of a small Thrones reunion: it puts her back together with Iain Glen.
Meanwhile her Fighting With My Family co-star Florence Pugh is rapidly ascending in the movie industry: she’s currently filming Marvel’s Black Widow, and she’s the lead in new horror Midsommar.
Fighting With My Family is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.
