Aggie Actor And ‘Game Of Thrones’ Actress Wife Visit Priceless Collection Housed On Campus

Texas A&M University, the Texas A&M Foundation, and the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts welcomed former student, actor Marc Menchaca ’98 and his wife, actress Lena Headey, to College Station this past weekend for a multi-site visit around campus.

We chatted with Menchaca earlier this year and he told us about his marriage to Headey, who played the infamous Queen Cersei Lannister on the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones.”

He also mentioned they were up for a campus visit, and a stop at the world-renowned Cushing Memorial Library & Archives seemed fitting for the queen.

Cushing houses the personal collection of author George R.R. Martin, who wrote the book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” upon which the “Game of Thrones” series, as well as HBO’s current series “House of the Dragon,” are based.

Texas A&M’s World-Renowned Collection

Martin discovered Texas A&M Libraries in the 1970s when he attended AggieCon, a sci-fi, horror and fantasy student-run fan convention. During his time on campus, he toured the Texas A&M University Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection, one of the largest of its kind in the world. When he was looking for a place to store his personal collection of memorabilia, he remembered A&M’s facilities and in 1993, chose Cushing to house his official repository. He spoke with Texas A&M Today in 2013 about it, just prior to another campus visit. Two years later, he donated the Libraries’ five millionth book, a rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 classic “The Hobbit,” illustrated by Tolkien himself.

For those unfamiliar with “Game of Thrones,” Headey’s character is a series legend, as it was her who sat on the most coveted throne for much of the series. Spoiler alert: Cersei Lannister indisputably loses “the game” in the end. Headey herself, though, won the hearts of fans worldwide with her portrayal of the complex character.

Exploring The Collection

We met our guests in the morning on Nov. 30; Headey and Menchaca were joined by family members, including Menchaca’s sister, Marci Menchaca, also an Aggie, class of 1995.

Jeremy Brett, curator of the sci-fi and fantasy collection, provided a tour, pulling pieces from the Martin collection and a few other rare finds. Brett, who has extraordinary knowledge and a healthy sense of humor, was sure to gather Lannister swords for the start of our tour. “We’re in House Lannister today,” he told us quite seriously, to chuckles in response.

Next, we traveled to the historic Kelsey Reading Room; its ceiling was originally hand-painted by Aggie architecture students in the early 1930s. There, Brett told the stories behind some of the items from the Martin collection, including original manuscripts and artwork that feature the author’s handwritten notes.

‘What Has He Brought Me To?’

During the tour, we asked the couple how they were enjoying their stay in Aggieland, and Headey said she’d taken in her first Yell Practice the evening prior. Menchaca said he was “a little anxious” bringing his British family members to Kyle Field, the largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference and one of the largest in the U.S., and which is, well, loud.

This is a famed British actress, so needless to say, we were eagerly awaiting her review. “I’ll be really honest,” she said. “I was like, ‘What’s happening? What has he brought me to?’ It was really very exciting, especially being a Brit, we don’t have things as wild as this. And the size of it, it was a bit like going to King’s Landing.”

And with that, we hit peak Aggie/GoT fandom heaven. You’re welcome.

Supporting The Collection

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection Endowment was recently established by anonymous donors.

The endowment is the first of its kind at Cushing and supports a range of sci-fi and fantasy initiatives, including acquisitions, speaker events, exhibitions and research.

If you would like to support the collection, visit the Texas A&M Foundation website.

Exploring new theatre degree

The couple also attended a lunch hosted by College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts Dean Tim McLaughlin, during which Menchaca met with Rayna Middleton Dexter, interim program director for the new theatre degree, to discuss his interest in the program, and the growth of it and the college. College officials say they hope to bring him back in the spring to meet with students.

To support programs in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, visit pvfa.tamu.edu/about/giving.