Gwendoline Christie is mostly popular for her role as Brienne of Tarth in the HBO series "Game of Thrones," but she will also play a part in the upcoming "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" and will star as Captain Phasma in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
In an interview with Variety, Christie revealed that right from the start, director J.J. Abrams wanted her there "acting a part," which is a big difference from how the franchise's other armored villain was previously portrayed. Darth Vader had David Prowse in the suit but the voice — and in essence the acting — was done by James Earl Jones.
Christie also explained that one of the challenges was that she no longer had to focus on portraying a woman that had to talk a certain way or be "mindful" in a certain way.
"As an actor I had to focus on other things," she stated. "I had to focus on what my body was communicating and what exactly my voice is communicating. I thought it was interesting to make something about the character identifiably female in a non-superficial way, and I hope that comes across."
The actress then revealed that Brienne and Captain Phasma have one thing common: they are characters that do not require her to think about the way she looks.
"It was great as an actor to work on your skills — that it isn't about holding your head so you look beautiful," she said. "It's about what you're transmitting, and to be in service of an idea greater than yourself, whether it's the character's overriding objective or, beyond that, hopefully something more sociopolitical."
Captain Phasma is noted for being a high officer in the First Order, the remnant group that formed after the Empire was dissolved at the end of "Return of the Jedi." However, none of the trailers thus far actually portrays her as a straight-up villain, and it is possible that she may become one of the main protagonists along the way or one of the most terrifying villains since the days of Darth Vader.
