Gwendoline Christie is embracing the “extreme responses” her body draws from people as she looks to the future following her groundbreaking portrayal of Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones. The Emmy Award nominee talked to GQ Style for the the magazine’s autumn/winter 2019 issue, posing with little makeup and sultry lingerie as she discussed the impact of her work on women and her own life.
“When I was growing up, fashion for me was the most immediate way of transforming. Different energies. Different emotions. Different people,” she told the magazine, as per The Independent, adding of her 6-foot-3-inch height, “I think, because my body seems to draw such extreme responses from people, that, well… it’s fight or flight, isn’t it? Sink or swim.”
Falling outside the norm doesn’t mean Christie is keeping herself hidden. “You either exist in a state of shame about not fitting into society or you embrace what you have,” she told GQ. As time goes by, you become very aware of your own mortality and you want to inhabit who you are fully.”
Her role as a strong woman in Game of Thrones and in the Star Wars franchise has inspired a whole group of women who see themselves in Christie.
“So many women come up to me and talk about what it means to feel represented outside of the constraints of conventional society,” she said. “In 2011, I didn’t think I would ever see women that looked like me in mainstream entertainment. It felt like there was one mould that wouldn’t be broken and diversity was not part of the conversation. …So the fact that Brienne existed? Wow.”
Christie certainly doesn’t shy away from taking what she deserves, submitting herself as a potential nominee for a Best Supporting Actress Emmy for her work on the HBO series.
“It’s something I find hard to do, like everyone else, but I would like to be in charge of my own destiny,” Christie told the Los Angeles Times. “And I would like to endeavour to give myself opportunities. Particularly when working very hard on something very special and you’ve pushed yourself beyond your limits.”
Photo credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO
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