Gwendoline Christie Claims Fan Demand Led to So Many Prominent Female ‘Game of Thrones’ Characters

Fans are less than two weeks away from finally getting to see the beginning of the final season of Game of Thrones, but many lucky viewers were treated to the first episode last night at the New York premiere. Gwendoline Christie, the actor best known for playing Brienne of Tarth on the hit HBO series, spoke to Variety on the red carpet about how audience input has helped shape the role of women on the series.

“It’s really extraordinary, isn’t it? Because Game of Thrones has come about at a time where the birth of the Internet also really occurred with people using it regularly, having phones where they could refer to it with ease. And what the Internet has done is provide everyone with an equal voice, and one element was that we heard what audiences want. And what they want are more female characters, and they want more complex female characters,” she explained.

“And something I’m deeply proud of in this show is that it has honored the books, it has taken the characters that are so exquisitely drawn and described in the books and maintained that and kept it in the TV show. And I think that this huge phenomenon that is Game of Thrones has illustrated that people want to see female characters. They’re interested in those stories, and it has provided some really exceptional female characters. I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Game of Thrones certainly has an array of amazing women, many of which have ended up in positions of power. Currently, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and the biggest threat to her throne is Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is currently running Winterfell while her brother is away, and that still leaves plenty other women with positions of power, strength, and prominent voices. When you look back at where all of these characters started, it’s a pretty impressive journey.

Christie’s wise words about the show were not the only thing that caught fan’s attentions last night. Her spectacular look at the premiere garnered tons of love, leading to a Twitter moment dedicated just to her. You can view some of the best tweets here.

Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season premieres on HBO on Sunday, April 14th.

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