Hunger Games star Natalie Dormer: 'I would have shaved my whole head off to play Cressida'

The actress said she was so desperate for the role she would have shaved her whole head, but described having half of her hair shaved off as 'liberating'

Natalie Dormer plays Cressida in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (Lionsgate)

Natalie Dormer has said that she would have shaved off all her hair for her role in the new Hunger Games film because she wanted the part so much.

The 32-year-old star plays the propaganda film director Cressida, who is described in the novels as being bald with green tattoos covering her head.

However, the British actress was told she only had to shave off half of her head for the part while the other half of her blonde hair was left intact.

“I was willing to shave off all my hair. I didn’t have to in the end, I only needed to do half but I would have done the whole [because] I wanted to be part of The Hunger Games so badly,” Dormer said at the world premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 in London last night.

Natalie Dormer said shaving half of her head was 'liberating' (Getty Images)

“When the razor came out – it was a little bit of a moment,” she said, adding, “it’s quite liberating, I would recommend it to women.”

She is the not the first actress who has sacrificed her locks for a role. Former Doctor Who star Karen Gillan went bald for Guardians of the Galaxy, while Charlize Theron has shaved her head for her part in the forthcoming Mad Max remake.

Dormer also stars in Game of Thrones, another franchise with strong women, and says that Hollywood is finally starting to realise how successful female characters can be.

“I think it's natural evolution. It's time - we're 50 per cent of the population. I think statistically we are a little bit more and I think cinema has finally caught on. It's seen the success TV has had by writing complex, heroic female roles, it's time.”

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 is released in UK cinemas on 20 November.

Read more: Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1 review
How Natalie Dormer became the new queen of the screen