With the possible exception of the bear she battled, its tough to think of a performer on Game of Thrones more perfect for the part theyre playing than Gwendoline Christie as the towering, glowering Brienne of Tarth. At 63, she captures the sword-wielding maidens imposing physicality. But its her willingness to totally ditch the sex appeal and glamour of virtually every other character on the show and embody Briennes lonely life as an outcast, clinging to a moral code it often seems she alone upholds, that makes her a justified fan favorite. To hear Christie tell it, Briennes recent experiences with Jaime Lannister (played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) are opening up new paths of exploration in a part shes been dying to play since before she even knew it existed.
This is the first time Ive interviewed an actor who moved me to tears in the last thing I saw them in.
Wow, was it that bad? [Laughs] No, Im really touched. What was it?
When you said Goodbye, Ser Jaime.
Im really, really, deeply touched, I really am, because its marvelous to hear when your work touches someone. But its so much more than me its the writers, its the writing, its the director, its the cinematography, and its the brilliance of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Game of Thrones Q&A: Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau on the Hand of the Kingslayer
A lot of the impact came from seeing Brienne treat a person with kindness whos not used to being treated that way, but its also that in doing so, she was letting her own guard down.
In that moment, she recognizes him as a man rather than a monster. Im so pleased that that came across, that she wants to give him the respect that she feels that he deserves, to be recognized as a man and worthy of the title of Ser as well. I dont think hes experienced that for a very long time.
Brienne is very focused on a moral code, on the good of the world around her and what is right. But in their bathtub scene, she recognizes his humanity, and his own struggle with what it is to be honorable. Shes also seeing something of him in her shes seeing his striving for the good of all, to an extent. Its a revelatory moment. It really expands Briennes mind, shows her not to regard everything as being quite so black and white. We start to see the complexity of a persons mind developing.
Nikolaj described Jaimes time with Brienne in much the same way. Shes shown him something outside the closed systems of the Lannisters and the Kingsguard.
Theyre quite similar people in terms of their psychology and their lives. They found a kind of symmetry, somehow. A kinship. Brienne has certainly never had a relationship with a man like Jamie. I mean, in terms of physical proximity and what they share emotionally, this is the closest shes ever been with any man that shes not been related to certainly, but probably with any man, full stop. For the pair of them, theres a moment of enormous expansion where everything theyve regarded as normal and set in stone prior is changed, and theres a multitude of possiblities.
Is romance one of those possibilities?
Do I think they will get together? [Laughs] I mean, its very . . . The world of Game of Thrones, the world that George R.R. Martin has created and that Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff]s translation adapts brilliantly, is a world thats never straightforward. I genuinely have moments of absolutely no idea. I dont even know if I want them to, because what theyre experiencing is a bond that is quite unusual and quite pure bond. He did come back and save her life, which is enormous. I think it makes us examine a lot of possibilities and angles of what love is, and what love makes us capable of.
And Brienne is a virgin and Jamie has only slept with his sister, so . . . [Laughs]. Were looking at two highly unusual individuals. I dont think that anyone genuinely can predict the way in which their relationship will go in any regard. Genuine and true love is so rare that when you encounter it in any form, its a wonderful thing, to be utterly cherished in whatever form it takes.
I enjoy asking these questions about shipping, because its absolutely one of the pleasures of fiction. But I worry that it flattens the range of intimacy that is available to human beings. To force it all into a romantic or sexual framework is to deny a lot of human experience.
Yeah. But at the same time, we wll want to see the impossible actually happen, to see these two extraordinary characters reach that amazing stage. Everyones a sucker for some love and romance and whatever that may bring. But with those two? Lord knows. [Laughs] I mean, he couldnt even say goodbye to her! He just kind of nods and looks at the floor and leaves. If anything, its the virgin thats making great strides. [Laughs]
Youve spoken very frankly about how your unusual height has affected your life, and some of your modeling work seems to touch on this as well taking ownership of your physical body. Brienne has struggled with her physicality as well. Shes gone a different road, obviously shes a warrior, not an actor but I wonder if you see overlap between her and yourself.
Absolutely. Thats why I wanted to play the part so much. I never thought Id ever come across a part like this. I was always told about this in drama school, that occasionally you might come across a part where you say, Yeah, I know that. I know it. I dont have to pretend to try and get there. I know this. As soon as I read about the character, I had to play it.
And its a character that we dont see that often. Im certainly really rather tall at 6 foot 3, and Ive been this way since I was 14, but for years women who are even 5 foot 10 have come up to me in the street and said, Oh, its so nice to see a woman who is taller than me. Ive always felt like a giant. They describe it to me like outsiders. It sounds a bit worthy, but I genuinely feel that as an actor part of my job is to highlight those recesses of human life and human psychology that we dont see that often. And if I have the opportunity, which I very luckily have, to play the part of an outsider, then I felt like I might be doing some good. Occasionally I get messages from women saying that Ive brought them some joy, and thats unbelievably thrilling.
An additional wrinkle for Brienne is that shes pretty much universally seen as ugly. When youre made up to look that way, when you change your hair and your demeanor and your physicality to look that way, does it change how you feel?
Yeah, totally. As a woman, we all want to feel attractive. We all want to feel that were making the very best of ourselves so we can accept ourselves. Its like all of these gorgeous, devastatingly beautiful actresses in the show, and then theres me harrumphing around. [Laughs] So it can be tough to look like that.
But you have to step outside of that and think about what these things really mean. I am still a person with a sense of superficiality that Im trying to challenge. I hope that it makes us examine exactly what unattractive is. Perhaps its not the conventions that we have or the blueprint in our minds. And if it makes people question for a minute what unattractive is, and the way in which we may respond as people to what we think unattractive is, then its worthwhile.