Gwendoline Christie Prioritized ‘Star Wars’ Over Other Projects, Talks Gender Neutrality Of Captain Phasma [Spoilers]


Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie is quite excited to have played Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and she talks of herself geeking out to the point of pushing to get a role in the J.J. Abrams directed movie. It was reported by Melty that Christie’s had a superb year and an interview told her excitement of Star Wars and stream of luck she had this year in Hollywood. She also talks about her role of Captain Phasma and how much she was insistent on being in The Force Awakens.

Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth in the HBO series and starred in The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2 as Commander Lyme are pretty big roles for Gwendoline and now as the “chrome plated”-looking stormtrooper. Her enthusiasm for the Lucasfilm project was so high that she actually turned down roles, reports Melty.

“I wanted to be in it so badly, I just did not stop going on about it. My agent would say: ‘There’s this other project that wants you,’ and I’d say: “Oh, that sounds great, but I want to be in Star Wars.”

For anyone whose seen The Force Awakens, Gwendoline plays Captain Phasma where she discovers Finn’s defection via his own free will. Apparently, committing atrocities in the name of The First Order wasn’t his cup of tea and as a result, they had to go seek him among others in the Resistance.

Christie had been a fan of the Star Wars franchise since she was a little girl and her admiration for the saga stemmed from her having felt like an outsider as a youngster. This looks to have been what gave Christie the ability to relate to the characters’ journey in the films. She talked about her challenges as a child when growing up. Also, Captain Phasma, a character that displays no gender, is something that the tall actress admires as it “casts away restrictive notions of gender.”

“I was just so excited that this idea for this female character was just so modern, relevant. … I just love that people are saying: ‘My little girl is dressing up as Captain Phasma and she loves it because she feels powerful,’ and then there are people also saying: ‘My little boy is dressing up as Captain Phasma and he loves it because he feels powerful.'”

However, HNGN reports that Gwendolyn Christie’s role as Captain Phasma was rather lacking in character development. *Spoiler* Although, Mark Hamill’s appearance was quite brief, there is question on whether or not Phasma will have more to the character than was offered in The Force Awakens. Interestingly enough, her character being caught off guard and captured was probably the highlight of the movie. She could, however, be comparable to Boba Fett as he didn’t have much dialogue and was quite mysterious.

Fans of Star Wars had their concerns about her future in Star Wars 8. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had this to say:

“She’s an important character, a baddie in the best sense of the word.”

Now Christie talks about her transition from theater to TV and the big screen. She had challenges getting into that industry at first because she “looked different.” However, her dedication in the field of acting was quite resilient as she never gave up. Gwendoline couldn’t help but think that if she “stuck it out long enough”, the odds would be in her favor, according to Buzz Feed.

Gwendoline Christie was nominated in 2014 for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series, Game of Thrones. She also had from 2014 to 2016 nominations for the HBO series for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Entertainment]

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