Watch actress Gwendoline Christie walk into any room and all heads turn, a much loved figure on London's social scene she's landed herself a plum role, the statuesque one is currently starring in HBO cult series Game Of Thrones as warrior Brienne of Tarth which she describes as being perfect for her. 'The reason I wanted to do it', she says was because, 'It was a massive transformation outside any part I've ever played before. In the past few years she's been cast in the stage production of Breakfast At Tiffany's as outlandish party lover Mag Wildblood, the Queen in Shakespear's Cymbeline and in artist Nathaniel Mellors 'absurdist' film drama Ourhouse as Baby. Christie describes her face as being 'nebulous' once stripped of make up, the role is that of a female androgynous warrior, on explaining the part Christie says, 'She's as good as any of her male rivals and because of her height and size and the fact she's not attractive she manages to push through'. Gwendoline expands on the subject, 'Reading the books I felt it was a part I could completely relate to, there are scenes where's she's completely humiliated. It's a dream role', she reflects, 'To be able to tackle prejudice from such a personal perspective'.
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Gwendoline in Love Magazine
At 4 years of age she studied ballet going on to become a professional gymnast, 'I was obsessed by it', by the age of 11 she suffered an injury due to being over coached and spent a year recovering. 'They strained all the muscles in my spine, I was told I had to stop or I wouldn't be able to carry a child, I thought, 'Well I'll have to become an actress... I'll do that instead'.
'Growing up in a small Sussex village, being tall and looking weird', with two half brothers one of which, Hugh, showed the good taste to educate the young Gwendoline in a subversive film selection such as Erasure Head and Pink Flamingos, Hugh certainly set the tone for her enquiring young mind. 'When he left me a huge wardrobe of books they contributed to my being weird, I was quite a dowdy thing with long hair to my hips'. Bullied for being so tall she read avidly, 'because', she says, 'I felt so completely and utterly isolated'.
By the age of 16 she had gravitated towards the Brighton scene, 'Those were my salad days.' After a strict upbringing she joined the youth theatre there and made new friends. It's here that Gwendoline developed a taste for working a look. She remembers a 'kinder whore outfit' with much amusement, and our Gwendoline is all for experimenting with her own personal style it has to be said. It was while modeling for the designer Sally Turner that fate took another turn, spotted by Julian MacDonald who was then working for Channel, 'He introduced me to Isabella Blow, I was just 18, I was still quite shy, it was when she was working for Sunday Times Style'. Blow had just launched Sophie Dahl and was keen to launch Gwendoline but needed a break. Gwendoline 'buggered about in Brighton' and finally ready to 'taste life' made it to London. Headed towards the Drama Center, Gwendoline cut her teeth on some serious study for 3 years, they told her she was too old (although she was only a year or two older than her fellow students) and too tall but nothing deterred her, and to her great joy on leaving she landed a part with director and writer Declan Donnellan at the RSC, 'That was a real dream... spectacular,' she says, playing classical roles was Christie's intention, she was fast becoming a fully fledged thespian.
Part of early London life included a coterie of like minded friends with experimental endeavors, Sybil Rouge, Lyall Hakaria, and Link Leisure... 'Matthew Glamore got hold of me, he tried to get me to shave my head. I was very embryonic until I met Sybil Rouge. She really gave me the best big sister that I had never properly had, she always made sure I was looked after.' I remember seeing Gwendoline with Sybil at Richard Mortimers at Boombox and thinking what a vision, I had in fact met her at Philip Normals degree show when we modeled for him.
There's an innocence to the way Gwendoline throws her self into situations, but she's mistress of herself, captivating and emcapassing... the serious side to the incredibly focused and diciplined Gwendoline Christie comes as no surprise, 'The work is what I've always wanted, there's not that many parts for big, funny, camp, glamourous girls'. Talking about her role in Game Of Thrones, 'It was something I could do as an actor, taking a step outside my own existence.' There's a 70ft high poster of Christie on the LA freeway, she's trying not to get too excited about it but the truth is we're all getting excited for her. Learning to sword fight, horse riding, she did all her own stunts, 'I learnt to canoe, one on one combat, I had to kill quite a lot of men', she tells me expressing the energy she puts into her work. 'I am a person and this is where I am today, a new phase, a balance and equilibrium, it certainly feels that way,' she ponders and adds, 'A balance of things that make my work so incredible, I want to devote myself to it entirely, that doesn't mean I'm not going to get razzy every now and again!' She laughs uproariously with a naughty twinkle in her eyes. 'I love doing film work, there's a real specificality to the intenstion, I like making it real and that's something that takes a life time to achieve...'
Words - Princess Julia (ID Mag 2012)
