Gwendolin Christie Interview: Actress Speaks About Character’s Inner Struggle [Spoilers]

Before Gwendoline Christie was confirmed as playing Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, she had another important role. Christie starred as Brienne, a Maid-turned-solider from the city of Tarth on HBO’s adaption of Game of Thrones, the TV series based on George R.R. Martin’s medieval fantasy series A Song of Ice And Fire. The series’ official wiki mentions that Christie’s character Brienne was formerly in service to Renly Baratheon, the self-declared King of Highgarden, but she was recruited to serve Catelyn Stark after being framed for Renly’s murder during the War of The Five Kings.

For those who aren’t familiar with the books or TV show, Brienne is a character known to be unattractive, but possibly one of the best fighters in the entire saga. Her struggle has been being made fun of and not taken seriously for her looks, and she has never officially been knighted although she’s clearly earned that title. Her companion, Podrick, often expresses confusion over whether to call her “Ser” (a title reserved for knights) or “M’Lady.”

Martin has said in the past that he agrees with author William Faulkner’s opinion that “the human heart in conflict with itself is the only thing worth writing about,” and Christie also spoke about the inner conflict her character Brienne faces during the series.

Christie’s character is definitely the poster child for inner conflict; the series’ official wiki described a scene from Martin’s book A Dance With Dragons in which Catelyn Stark becomes convinced Brienne is a spy for the Starks’ enemies, House Lannister. Catelyn then gives Brienne a choice: kill Jaime Lannister to prove her loyalty, or hang for her crimes. In addition, there is the more outward struggle Christie’s character faces between wanting to be a knight and being denied the title because she is always underestimated.

The interview was gathered from Making Game of Thrones, the show’s official production diary, and specifically mentioned Brienne’s adventures in the Season 5 episodes “High Sparrow” and “The House Of Black And White.”

In the interview, reported on by Game of Thrones fan site Winter is Coming, (a reference to a frequently-uttered slogan during the TV and in-print series), Christie touches on issues ranging from her character’s relationship with Jaime Lannister (The Queen’s brother) to her disappointment over the fact that she was unable to rescue Catelyn’s daughter Sansa.

Winter is Coming pulled a few great quotes from the interview, specifically one about how Brienne sees part of herself in Podrick as both have been “marginalized in becoming what they want-a knight.” This seems to be something of a recurring theme in the show (as an example, see Season One’s episode “Cripples, Bastards, And Broken Things”, where Samwell Tarly is mocked for his inability to perform in combat as a member of the Night’s Watch). Christie also spoke about Brienne’s strengths and vulnerabilities.

“I think what’s so beautiful and interesting about the character of Brienne of Tarth is yes, she’s strong; she’s a badass; she has vulnerability. But in all of her lack of convention and her uniqueness, all women can identify with her because she wants to be loved in the way that as human beings – male or female – we all want to be loved. We see the pureness of her humanity, and that she’s something that isn’t so far away from all of us.”

This has also been a tradition with Martin’s characters — they are strong in the sense of being Kings and Queens, conquerors and knights, but they also have downfalls that make them very human (Tyrion Lannister drinks and sleeps around too much, Robert Baratheon would rather have grandiose feasts than run the Kingdom, for instance).

Another interesting aspect of the series is that Martin’s characters are not inherently good nor evil; they are simply doing what they feel is right for themselves and their family. For instance, Viserys Targaryen wants the throne back because it was stolen from his ancestor Aerys II, not just because he’s a villain who wants to take over the Seven Kingdoms without any good reason.

[Image Credit: Making Game Of Thrones, HBO]