Gwendoline Christie has nothing but fond memories of her time portraying Brienne of Tarth in HBO’s mega-hit show Game of Thrones. Christie was cast in the role in 2011 and made her Westeros debut in the show’s second season as the towering warrior. Even amidst the controversy surrounding the show’s latter seasons, Brienne remained a constant fan-favorite, with many declaring she had the best character arc in the show.
Christie recently sat down with Radio Times to discuss her upcoming movie, Robin and the Hoods, and took a moment to reflect on her GoT legacy. The actress said she was too invested in portraying her character to notice any of the fan reception to the show, be it positive or negative. While a large section of the fan base turned on showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss after the 8th and final season, Christie praised their work in adapting George R.R. Martin’s beloved novels. Christie said:
“I didn’t pay the most attention to it because I was very, very invested in my character.
I had a wonderful character to play that I loved so much and was so rich and there was so much to explore
. I love the writing. I love the character as created by George RR Martin. I love the adaptation by [showrunners] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss]. I thought that was really brilliant.”
Game Of Thrones
- Release Date
- December 10, 2010
- Studio
- HBO
- Franchise
- Game of Thrones
Gwendoline Christie Never Stopped Developing Brienne of Tarth
The only person who seems to love Brienne of Tarth more than the show’s dedicated fan base is Christie herself. During the conversation, the actress shared how determined she was to perfect her performance as the beloved character. Christie said she never stopped working on the best way to portray Brienne across her 7 season-long arc. The actress explained:
“The character fed me for all of those years.
The character never once stopped feeding me, and I never stopped working on the character right to the very end
, even with things that people were surprised by, like when Brienne smiled when she was knighted. That made complete sense to me that she hadn’t really smiled. This is the time she smiled, because she got the thing she wanted in a very intimate and special way.”
While Christie’s time in Westeros is likely over for good (although nothing has been officially confirmed), her character will have major ties to the protagonist of Game of Thrones‘ latest spin-off series. Titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the new series is set between the events of Game of Thrones and the ongoing prequel House of the Dragon. The series, based on one of Martin’s short stories, follows Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) as he journeys to partake in a prestigious sword-fighting tournament. In the books, Ser Duncan is a descendant of House Tarth, although the full extent of the lineage has yet to be revealed.
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If Game of Thrones‘ TV-based fans thought they had to wait a long time between seasons and new shows, they’ve got nothing on fans of the books. The last Game of Thrones book, A Dance of Dragons, was published in 2010 (that’s before HBO’s series even began airing!). Fans have waited 14 years for The Winds of Winter with no official update as to its release. While some fans have lost hope, Gwendoline Christie is a firm believer that Martin will finish the book series. The actress commented:
“I have every confidence that he will. I hope so. I have great love for George, and he’s been very good to me over the years. He’s wonderful.”
Game of Thrones
is available to stream on Max.