Gwendoline Christie Was ‘Really Struggling’ Before She Was Cast on Game of Thrones: ‘I’ve Never Been a Conventional Choice’

https://people.com/gwendoline-christie-struggling-before-cast-game-thrones-brienne-tarth-11826081

35 comments

  1. > She continued, “At drama school, they told all of us, if you’re very, very lucky, one day you may find a part that speaks to you. And in it speaking to you, in a sense, it does the work for you. I didn’t think I’d ever quite find that.”

    > Christie said she didn’t have that belief because, in part, “I was really struggling with myself if I’m honest.” She explained, “Society still does sometimes, but on the whole then, find me difficult to digest. I’ve never been a conventional choice. But that part was like a bolt from the blue.”

    > But she said “nobody” thought she’d really book it. “I’d just been told consistently, ‘You’ll never work on screen because you’re too tall and you’re too unconventional looking and you’re too large overall and you’re too much taller than most men,’ ” she said. Christie is six feet, three inches tall.

  2. She was a highlight of the show, one of many excellent casting choices.

  5. She was absolutely wasted as “Captain Phasma” in the new *Star Wars* films.

    Superb actress, excellent role that she absolutely nailed. And they wasted it and her. It frustrates me to this day.

  7. She’s a good actor. I’m glad GoT has given her more opportunities

  9. I always thought she should do voiceover work, she has a super distinct and cool voice

  10. When she appears on other roles like Wednesday, who else say out loud “Brienne of Tarth” with the same voice how she said it on GOT ?

  11. Aren’t there male actors over 6 foot to pair her with? It seems like Hollywood ought to be able to cast her as a love interest if Elizabeth Debicki gets cast. Isn’t she also over 6 foot?

  12. Gwendoline Christie should be banging down the door at Capcom to get a Lady Alcina Dimitrescu prequel series into production.

  13. And then star wars destroyed any thing she had. What a joke, the hyping of her character was. Only to be dumped and never taking the mask off. Another great thing SW did 🙂 LOL

  14. My initial reaction was disappointment because she is too beautiful for the character that the books describe. But I was immediately won over. Christie made that character come alive with a depth that was truly impressive. One of my favorite characters in the series. I loved how her relationship with Jamie developed and absolutely hated the ending (as with almost all of season 8.)

  15. She’s fantastic and I hope she keeps getting consistent roles.

  16. Sad part is she’s an excellent actor. She’s an Amazonian woman the way she’s built which is awesome. She was perfect for that role and on Wednesday.

  17. Much too pretty to play Brienne, which goes for a lot of the cast. Arya, Stannis, Jorah, Selyse are all supposed to be ugly. Like really? I loved Christie’s performance though.

  19. Definitely one of the best characters on GOT !!

    Love her on Wednesday too! 💜

  20. Tyrion and her were the closest embodiments of their book characters, other than in the books they’re both much uglier

  21. She was such a stunning character in GOT- love her👍🏼👍🏼bring the Emmys- all worthy

  22. When she is part of a show, I always look forward to it.

  25. “Big woman still here?” I’m sometimes chuckle to myself thinking about this scene.

    So happy she have had success in so many roles since GoT.

  27. And yet I watched the series particularly to see her in action. 🙌🏻

  28. I’d love to see Gwendoline make an appearance on Ted Lasso opposite Hannah Wadingham. That would be fun to watch!

  29. She was such an amazing choice for her talent and because she stood out physically from the others. I always get so happy when I see her in a different show.

  30. She’s awesome. She’s type cast a bit though.

    If you need a dynamic top tier actress who could believably beat the living shit out of the biggest guy you have ever seen, Gwendoline Christie is your only choice.

    I would watch her in any action movie. If they reboot the terminator she’s gotta play the terminator.

  31. I know someone that went to drama school and they said one of the first lectures was very clear about “if you are not average/good looking, you will likely struggle to find work except in parts that require your specific appearance. But if you can nail that part, people will *make* parts that fit your specific appearance.”

    And that kinda seems to be what happened with Christie. GOT was a breakout role that needed someone like her, but once people saw how great she was, they made roles to fit her, or that she would at least fit with.

  32. She seems so ethereal to me. I loved her in Wednesday too.

  34. I remember reading she really didn’t want to cut her hair for the role because she felt self conscious about it but man, she rocked the short hair!

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