CREATING the magical world of The Witcher comes with a fair deal of sacrifice.

Hours spent in hair and makeup, costly CGI effects and gruelling battle sequences can all take their toll on the cast and crew of a show.

However, one particular character underwent more hardship than most on set – Anya Chalotra, who plays Yennefer of Vengerberg.

In the early part of the season Yennefer is introduced as an outcast, disowned by her family for her physical ailments.

Yennefer struggles with a twisted spine, resulting in a hunched back, while her jaw is misaligned, protruding to one side.

She convinces herself that her looks make her unlovable, but her fate takes a dramatic turn after being offered a new life as a mage.

Ultimately, with the help of magic, she is transformed into a beautiful sorceress, but the pre-metamorphosis scenes took a toll on Anya.

Anya had to wear prosthetics to create her crooked posture, which placed a strain on her back.

“I had a trapped nerve in my back that I had to get massaged out after playing her for so long! It was very uncomfortable,” she revealed.

Fortunately, she was able to channel the pain into her acting.

“But also [the pain] only ever aided my performance, as much as it was uncomfortable, we tried to make it as comfortable as possible,” she added to Metro Online.

However, she admitted that the decision to go down the path of prosthetics was hasty.

“Because we’d chosen that way immediately, because we had to make decisions quite fast, we weren’t able to change the way we’re doing thing,” she went on.

Out of everyone, Chalotra said that her stunt double had it the worst, as her prosthetics were decidedly more robust.

That being said, she also found herself battling heat due to the padded garment.

“The one that the body double wore was heavy because it was a whole back piece,” she continued.

“The ones that were under my outfits weren’t. They were very sweaty though!”

Chalotra’s comments come amid backlash at The Witcher’s prolific sex scenes.

The show has been accused of a disproportionate amount of female nudity, with Yennefer among the characters stripping down to her birthday suit “gratuitously,” according to critics.

The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix now.

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