Game Of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie has admitted that she would be okay if she never has a role like Brienne of Tarth ever again.
Brienne, of House Stark, arrived on the hit TV show in season two and went on to become a pivotal character across the remaining series, but now the British actress has spoken of her fear that a role like Brienne ‘might never happen’ but that she has come to terms with what that means.
‘What occurred was a shift; something spoke to me and allowed me an insight into humanity. Thrones, and Brienne, together they gave me a lot of hope, and a lot of experience,’ she said.
‘I’ve been dealing with this idea of loss since I first got the character. Now, it’s about stepping into other worlds and other humans and allowing that to happen.
‘It was so hard for so long. But a little bit of acceptance means a huge amount.’
Speaking to GQ Magazine, the 40-year-old also revealed how emotional she gets over the existence of Brienne, and how her existence on TV screens has been a step forward for many women; Gwendoline is over 6 feet tall.
‘So many women come up to me and talk about what it means to feel represented outside of the constraints of conventional society,’ she added.
‘In 2011, I didn’t think I would ever see women that looked like me in mainstream entertainment,’ she continued.
‘It felt like there was one mould that wouldn’t be broken and diversity was not a part of the conversation. So the fact that Brienne existed? Wow.’
Game Of Thrones, which aired its last ever season this year, stands to take home a whopping 32 Emmy awards this year – the most for any programme ever in a single season.
But Gwendoline and her co-stars Carice Van Houten and Alfie Allen all put themselves forward for Emmy nominations after execs for the HBO hit chose not to put forward the actors into this year’s awards race.
Through their own representatives, the three shelled out for the $225 (£180) entry fee and all three were rewarded with nominations’ Gwendoline is nominated for best-supporting actress in a drama series for her role as Brienne of Tarth, while Alfie is up for best supporting actor in a drama series, and Carice is in the running for best guest actress in a drama series.
Read the full feature in the Autumn/Winter 2019 issue of GQ Style available on digital download and on newsstands Thursday 19 September.
