Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) Discusses Her Role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Less than 90 days remain until the worldwide theatrical debut of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Surprisingly…or not, depending on how you see it, Game of Thrones is having quite the impact on that galaxy far, far away, as former stars like Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel—he’s rumored to play Constable Zuvio), future stars like screen legend Max von Sydow (Three-eyed-Raven in Season 6, rumored to play a mysterious character named The Vicar in Star Wars), and current stars like Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) switch from one fantasy tentpole to another.
In a recent interview with Variety, Christie discussed the variety in the three major roles she is currently involved with: Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones, Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Commander Lyme in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. Focusing specifically on her role in Star Wars, Christie recalled how she and director J.J. Abrams decided to tackle Captain Phasma’s menacing demeanor. Gwendoline likened her Star Wars filming experience to that of David Prowse, the man who wore the Darth Vader armor, although it was James Earl Jones who won all the accolades for the voice work.
"I don’t think many female actors get the opportunity to play a part where they’re not having to think about the way their face looks, but I found exactly the same thing with Brienne of Tarth, and that was very liberating. It was great as an actor to work on your skills — that it isn’t about holding your head so you look beautiful. It’s about what you’re transmitting, and to be in service of an idea greater than yourself, whether it’s the character’s overriding objective or, beyond that, hopefully something more sociopolitical."
This is great, because Christie is talking about the core of acting here. Perhaps her ease with body language is why she has consistently stolen the spotlight when sharing scenes with better-known actors like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) or his on screen sister Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister). You can already tell that her work as the homely Brienne on Game of Thrones is helping her to pull off the menacing yet visually stunning Phasma.
As far as Game of Thrones is concerned, Christie still gushes about the excellent writing on the show. She talks about getting the part of Brienne, and then reading the books and thinking that George R.R. Martin had created these really in-depth female characters that were going to be watered down on the show.
"Obviously they’ll cut down the women and just make them girlfriends for the TV show.’ And then when I received the scripts I saw that that wasn’t the case at all, and that David Benioff and Dan Weiss had honored the text and had brought it to life and continue to bring it to life further and further."
Gwendoline Christie’s first big role since Game of Thrones Season 5 ended—The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2—hits theaters on November 20, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens will debut on December 18.
Next: Check out more casting notices for Game of Thrones Season 6