Gwendoline Christie

Biography of Gwendoline Christie

Gwendoline Christie (born October 28, 1978) is an English actress known for her role as Brienne of Tarth in the television series Game of Thrones and more recently for her role as Larissa Weems in the popular Netflix series Wednesday. She was born in Worthing, West Sussex, England, and her full name is Gwendoline Tracey Philippa Christie. As a child, she practiced semi-professional gymnastics, but suffered a spinal injury that prevented her from continuing in this discipline. It was then that she became interested in acting and enrolled in the Drama Centre London, where she graduated in 2005. To boost her career, she moved to London.

Christie is known for her tall stature (1,91 m), which allowed her to be chosen for a series of modeling photographs titled Bunny, in which she posed naked in most of the images. The actress said that this helped her to accept herself as she was and to feel stronger and empowered, as she had previously felt uncomfortable with her height.

In July 2011, Christie was chosen as the warrior Brienne of Tarth in the second season of the series “Game of Thrones” after a impressive audition. This role made her name very popular. The producers of the series, including George R. R. Martin, were looking for an actress with the appropriate physical profile to play a tall, muscular and strong-looking woman. To fit the character, Christie began an intense training regimen and gained 6.4 kg of muscle mass. She also took classes in horse riding, sword fighting, and simulated combat.

Christie debuted in the third episode of the second season of “Game of Thrones” on April 15, 2012 and her performance was greatly admired and well received by critics. For example, Nina Shen Rastogi praised her walking, posture, and demeanor, which effectively conveyed Brienne’s unshakeable devotion to becoming a knight and to her king Renly. The following year, Christie was nominated for her role as Brienne for the Saturn Award for Best Actress.

In April 2014, Christie was chosen to play the role of Commander Lyme in the last two “Hunger Games” movies, a role that had originally been intended for Lily Rabe, but had to be abandoned due to scheduling problems.

The actress has also played Lexi in “Wizards vs Aliens” and Captain Phasma in “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens”. She was the lead in “China Girl”. She also starred in the second season of “Top of the Lake”, playing Miranda Hilmarson, a police officer in Sydney; the character was created specifically for Christie by co-creator Jane Campion. She reprised her role as Captain Phasma in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. She has recently been part of productions such as “The Darkest Minds” directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and “Welcome to Marwen” (2018) directed by Robert Zemeckis. She has also lent her voice to the animated series “Star Wars Resistance”.

 

Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems in Wednesday

In 2022, Christie played Larissa Weems, the director of the Nevermore Academy in the successful Netflix horror-comedy series “Wednesday”. Her character develops a special bond with the protagonist (Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega), which earned her great recognition from the audience for her performance. According to the actress herself, having the opportunity to play this character was a dream come true since she grew up watching the black and white program and then the movie.