From one Avengers star to another, Samuel L. Jackson pays his respects to Diana Rigg, “the coldest dopest poisoner in Westeros.”
Yesterday, Dame Diana Rigg died at the age of 82 after a months-long battle with cancer. Rigg lived a long life with many exciting professional achievements, including playing super spy Emma Peel in the 1960s show The Avengers and playing the acid-tongued Queen of Thorns Olenna Tryell on Game of Thrones. She will most definitely be missed.
People from throughout Rigg’s career quickly came out to pay their respects to the veteran actor, including many of the people she worked with on Thrones. But Rigg’s reputation was such that even people who never worked with her are still eager to pay tribute, including Samuel L. Jackson, who plays super-spy Nick Fury star of the latter-day Avengers movies, which have nothing to do with Rigg’s Avengers, but still, spies have to stick together:
And she never did.
Among younger folk, Rigg is best known these days for playing Olenna Tyrell, but Jackson isn’t kidding about how badass she was in The Avengers. The cool-headed, super-competent Emma Peel took no guff from anyone, and became an early feminist icon:
Throughout her career, Rigg gained a reputation for playing clever, no-nonsense characters who could cut you down to size with a glance. Olenna Tyrell, who famously poisoned the wretched king Joffrey Baratheon at his own wedding, may have been the peak of these. She stole every scene she was in, including her final death scene. It’s not often that a character dies and still seems like they came out on top, but somehow Olenna and Rigg managed it:
And of course, she had many other parts besides, including playing Tracy, the only women ever to marry James Bond, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, not to mention innumerable roles on the stage. We will never see her like again.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels
