Her other film credits include The Remains of the Day (1993), The Jungle Book (1994), Mrs Dalloway (1997), Ripley's Game (2002), Imagine Me & You (2005), Dredd (2012), The Purge (2013), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), and Fighting with My Family (2019).

[8] She had her first acting experience when as a pupil at Shelley College; she was noticed at age 17, when performing in a school production at the Royal National Theatre, and was picked for a role in the 1992 film Waterland.

[citation needed] Headey played Kitty Brydon, the childhood friend and romantic interest of Mowgli, in Disney's The Jungle Book (1994).

[citation needed] James Berardinelli praised the cast's "solid performances"[10] as part of a positive critical reception, and the film found moderate commercial success in theaters.

[11] She appeared opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the 1997 romantic drama Mrs Dalloway, portraying the closest friend of a housewife, who is now wife of a self-made millionnaire and mother of five.

[14] In 2000, Headey played a newly promoted lawyer with no apparent emotional attachments in the romantic comedy Aberdeen,[citation needed] receiving the Silver Iris Award for Best Actress at the 2001 Brussels European Film Festival, and also starred as a troubled college student in the psychological drama Gossip, with Kate Hudson.

[18] Headey found much wider recognition when she starred with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam's adventure fantasy film The Brothers Grimm (2005)[19] as Angelika, whose woodsman father was transformed into a werewolf by the Evil Queen.

The film, which Commonsense Media called "charming", "quirky", and "witty",[25] found a limited release in theaters, but Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that the actress "has a forthright, irresistible appeal and a face and especially a smile that suggest intelligence, integrity, and lots of fun".

[35] In 2009, Headey played an ill-fated character in the slasher film Laid to Rest, which received a DVD release,[36][37] had a part in a short film titled The Devil's Wedding, and also provided her voice for an episode of the Cartoon Network series The Super Hero Squad Show,[citation needed] playing Black Widow and Mystique.

[44][45][46] After guest-starring in the White Collar episode "Taking Account" in 2011, Headey took on the role of the leader of a drug-dealing gang and the primary villain in the 3D sci-fi action film Dredd (2012), alongside Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby.

[47][48][49] Her performance was inspired by punk-rock singer Patti Smith, and on the character, Headey asserted: "I think of [Ma-Ma] like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her [...] she's ready for it.

In 2015, she played the wife of a federal prosecutor running for office who cannot stop himself from sleeping with high-class escorts in the political thriller Zipper, opposite Patrick Wilson.

[citation needed] In the historical action comedy Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Headey appeared as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, with her former Game of Thrones, Century, and The Contractor co-star Charles Dance.

[55] In 2017, Headey appeared as a "predictably hard-boiled boss" in the crime thriller Thumper, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival,[56] and provided the voiceover for Mercedes A-Class television advertisement and Morgana in Trollhunters.

[57] In March 2022, Headey was set to make her feature directorial debut with thriller film Violet based on a novel of the same name by SJI Holliday.

On 12 January 2024, she contributed to a video series, published by the Palestine Festival of Literature, in support of South Africa's motion, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

[64][67] On 10 July 2015, Headey gave birth to a daughter with filmmaker Dan Cadan, a childhood friend who had worked with her on his short film The Devil's Wedding.

Her most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films include The Remains of the Day (1993), The Jungle Book (1994), Aberdeen (2000), The Parole Officer (2001), Ripley's Game (2002), The Brothers Grimm (2005), 300 (2007), Laid To Rest (2009), Dredd (2012), The Purge (2013), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), Thumper (2017), Fighting with My Family (2019), and DC League of Super-Pets (2022).

[72][73] Her most notable television roles include Band of Gold (1996–1997), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009), Game of Thrones (2011–2019), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), Wizards: Tales of Arcadia (2020), Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021), and White House Plumbers (2023).