London, Aug 21 (IANS): "Game of Thrones" actress Natalie Dormer says she was once unemployed for 10 months and that gave her an important lesson.

Dormer, 34, said it was because a promised three-film deal with Touchstone Pictures never happened, that she was out of work, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"I was properly unemployed for 10 months -- temping in an office again to pay for Christmas presents. That was the best lesson I've ever learnt: You're never home and dry," Dormer told the Daily Telegraph.

These days, she has the choice of picking movies that will challenge her, instead of having to fight for every role.

"I try to look for the thing that is going to challenge me next, for the thing that takes me out of my comfort zone - the thing I'm not quite sure whether I'm going to be able to do or not," she said.

She is also busy learning new things as she co-wrote her new movie "In Darkness" with her fiance, director Anthony Byrne.

Dormer said she loved the experience of working on a film from scratch.

"I've learnt so much about the mechanics of how a film is made. To see and appreciate that you're a cog in a wheel of a much bigger thing happening in front of and behind the camera is a healthy thing for an actor.

"Now I'm just dying to get on set and tell the story. It's scary because we don't have a lot of time. But nothing worth doing isn't scary, right?"