Natalie Dormer, famous for her roles in The Tudors, The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, has defended the n^de scenes she carried out earlier in her career.

Dormer is now taking on her first lead role in a film, with psychological thriller The Forest due to be released next month.

Speaking to ES Magazine, she stated, “It means the work has paid off.

First things first, I can pay the bills doing the job I love — my 16-year-old self would be very content with that.

But, of course, your ambitions change.

I’ve had the responsibility of carrying projects on stage and TV, so it was the next thing I had my eyes on, to prove I could do it on film.”

The Forest tells the story of Dormer’s character Sara who goes to Japan to search for her missing twin, only to find herself lost in the ancient Aokigahara forest, a notorious suicide spot, where she begins to lose her mind.

Dormer, 33, trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in South Kensington before winning her role in The Tudors.

The show, which starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII, featured a number of n^de scenes.

Dormer explained, “When I started my career, I was grateful to get the job.

People would say, ‘The Tudors was so hyper-sexualised, why on earth would you make that decision?’ Well, I made the decision because I was unemployed.

I didn’t know what The Tudors was going to be, I didn’t have all 10 scripts; I’d just got a job, for f***’s sake.”

Despite the criticism that such n^dty attracted, Dormer believes that s** is an important part of art.

She added, “There’s plenty of male n^dty in Game Of Thrones, too.

s** is part of life, ergo it’s part of art.

If you’re representing real life, then you will represent s**.” Dormer lives in south-west London with her fiancé, director Anthony Byrne.

Dormer also spoke about the strong female characters in The Hunger Games, which she believes have been a game-changer for the industry.

She stated, “The money men now know that it’s not going to damage their revenue to have a fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional female in the lead… But, you know, it’s not just the film industry.

It’s a society problem — we just have the platform to talk about it in our industry.”
Dormer is well-known for her ability to play complex and interesting roles, including manipulative queen Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones and armed rebel Cressida in The Hunger Games.

Now she is taking on the role of Sara, a woman who is trying to find her twin sister in a dangerous location.

Speaking about her new role, Dormer said, “It is a very different role.

It was lovely to be able to create a character from scratch.

You never get to do that as an actor.

Even when you’re originating a play or a musical, it’s already been written.

So that was a big challenge.”

The Forest is set to be released next month and the early trailers suggest it will be a tense psychological thriller.

Dormer stated that she was drawn to the project because it is a genre that she has always wanted to work in.

She commented, “I’m a big Hitchcock fan and I’d never done anything in this genre before.

As an actor, you want to do things that challenge you and scare you a bit.”
Despite her success on stage and screen, Dormer is still aware that the industry is difficult to navigate.

Speaking about her experiences, she explained, “It’s a tough industry.

There are lots of people who want to do it and not enough jobs for them.

So when you’re in it, you’ve got to be grateful.”
However, she also believes that the industry is changing for the better, particularly in terms of the roles that are being offered to women.

She stated, “When I first started out, it was very much the girlfriend or the daughter or the wife or the mistress.

That was what was on offer.

And now we’re starting to see much richer female characters on our screens and on our stages.