Gwendoline Christie's Reaction to Self-Submitting for an Emmy Is Gold
HBO didn't submit Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) for Emmy Award consideration, so she did it herself and got nominated in the Supporting Actress category.
Christie explained that she self-submitted "to do it for me" and as a "testament to [Brienne] and what I feel she represents."
Co-stars Carice Van Houten (Melisandre) and Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) also submitted themselves for consideration and were nominated.
Game of Thrones dominated headlines when the 2019 Emmy Nominations were announced for two main reasons. First, the HBO fantasy series snagged 32 of them, setting a new record for the number of nominations earned by a single series in one season. Second and less flattering, it was revealed that three of the actors nominated—Gwendoline Christie, Alfie Allen, and Carice van Houten—weren't submitted by HBO for award consideration. They had to submit themselves, and still received nods.
Some GoT viewers were up in arms over the news. Did the network underestimate some of its most talented performers? Whatever the exact reason, Christie, now a Supporting Actress nominee, explained that she decided to vouch for herself "to be in charge of my own destiny," she told the L.A. Times.
"And I would like to endeavor to give myself opportunities," she added. "Particularly when working very hard on something very special and you’ve pushed yourself beyond your limits."
Christie first checked that submitting herself for consideration "wasn’t an inappropriate thing to do," and she was told it wasn't. "I truly never expected it to manifest in a nomination and I don’t think anybody else did either," she said. "But I just had to do it for me. And I had to do it as a testament to the character and what I feel she represents."
The actress reacted with the utmost joy when the nominations were announced last month. Her Instagram post said it all, with the caption: "I CANT BELIEVE IT!!!!!!????!?!!?!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
HBO programming president Casey Bloys explained that Emmy submissions are "unique" for GoT due to its large cast. And according to Vanity Fair, that means that if all of the cast members were submitted, they could've cancelled out each other's chances. However, Bloys said HBO would still help the nominated actors to campaign for the win, even if they self-submitted.
Christie is up against fellow co-stars in the Supporting Actress category: Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams. The other two nominees are Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) and Julia Garner (Ozark). Find out who takes home the prize when the Emmy Awards air on September 14 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
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