Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie explains why she submitted herself for an Emmy
"I would like to be in charge of my own destiny."
- Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
Gwendoline Christie won the game of red carpets at Game of Thrones' season 8 premiere in New York City.
Game of Thrones had an incredibly big, controversial final season. One flame in the pyre stemmed from news that three actors had been forced to submit themselves for supporting actor Emmys because HBO didn't put them up for consideration. Gwendoline Christie, who played Ser Brienne of Tarth, has now shared her thoughts on why she decided to go it alone.
"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 in an interview published Aug. 5. "And I would like to endeavor to give myself opportunities. Particularly when working very hard on something very special and you've pushed yourself beyond your limits."
Before submitting herself, Christie checked "it wasn't an inappropriate thing to do." Not expecting to actually receive a nomination, she went in mainly to make a "testament to the character" and what she represents.
What she represents is massive. In the final season of the show, Ser Brienne of Tarth not only survives, she earns a knighthood to become the first woman to do so in the Seven Kingdoms. She also becomes the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, solidifying her status as a "queen" within and outside the show.
Christie said she found her character's survival amid the show's slaughterhouse of deaths "incredibly positive and unexpected."
Ser Brienne is almost a completely unique character in TV and film. Taller than most of the male characters, with a level of physical strength and androgyny, she is unconventional to say the least. An Emmy win would carry multiple layers for Christie, who sees the part as contributing to women being seen in a different way in the landscape of entertainment.
"A more realistic way and a more unconventional way."
