Lena Headey, star of HBO’s Game of Thrones has been sued by YMU Group for $1.5 million. The lawsuit is over alleged unpaid commission fees related to several of Headey’s recent projects, including the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. YMU claims that Headey owes the company at least $500,000 for Thor alone. YMU also claims that they’re owed $300,000 for the film 9 Bullets and $650,000 for the failed series Rita.
Headey signed with YMU Group in 2005, which at the time was known as Troika. Troika was co-founded by Headey’s previous personal representative at Lou Carl Associates, Michael Duff. In 2017, Troika merged with James Grant Group; and in 2018 they were acquired by private equity firm and rebranded to YMU.
Headey claims that she never signed a formal contract with either YMU/Troika or Duff, and that both parties were acting according to an oral agreement made with Lou Carl Associates. She also states in her court filings that YMU/Troika were never her sole agent — she is represented in the US by Creative Artists Agency — and YMU/Troika has no right to commission on her Thor role as she was approached directly by Taika Waititi and the agency did not secure her the role.