GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE STARS ON THE COVER OF NUMÉRO NETHERLANDS’ FANTASY

interview by MAREK BARTEK

You might know her as the knight Brienne of Tarth from the cult TV series Game of Thrones, or as Nevermore’s principal Larissa Weems from Netflix’s Wednesday. But above all, GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE is an Artist with a capital “A,” someone with a deep appreciation for artistic expression in all its forms. She is a force to be reckoned with — ethereal and profoundly inspiring. 

coat ENTIRE STUDIOS
bodysuit SKIMS

Were you always drawn to performing as a form of artistic expression, or did you find your way to it more gradually?

My first dream was to be a dancer. I started at the age of three, and for a long time, that’s what I wanted. When I realised I couldn’t pursue dance professionally, cinema became my world. I adored films. Some of my earliest memories are of being taken to the cinema, like to see Dumbo. I found it deeply traumatic. The same with Bambi. I loved those films, but I couldn’t bear the pain in them. That sensitivity shaped me, but it also fed a deep obsession. And my mother was instrumental in that. She had unusual and avant-garde taste in cinema. We watched films together constantly, everything from arthouse to classic Hollywood to experimental work, and those moments with her became a kind of private education. It wasn’t just entertainment; it was how I learned to look at the world differently, to accept that art could be unsettling, strange, sublime. When school became unbearable, I’d stay home, reading voraciously and immersing myself in cinema. Those film nights with my mother gave me courage to explore beyond what was expected of me. In my mind it was simple: if I couldn’t dance, I’d act. I recognised the same discipline, structure and pursuit of emotional freedom.

You’ve spoken candidly about the way your height, androgyny and unconventional beauty have been perceived — both by the industry and by audiences. What has it been like to navigate that? And how has it shaped the way you inhabit your characters?

It has shaped everything. When I was younger, being tall and androgynous meant constantly being told I didn’t fit. Brienne gave me the chance to embrace what I had been made to fear — my physicality, my difference. But of course, the public perception was difficult. The commentary around Brienne was often that she was “ugly.” And even though that’s just a construct, it can be painful when society reinforces that narrative about you. That’s why Wednesday was so meaningful — it was the first time I’d been allowed to appear conventionally beautiful on screen. To feel celebrated as I am, rather than framed as an oddity, was liberating. It was like being creatively reborn.

You’ve lived in so many fantastical worlds but what does fantasy mean to you personally, as a performer and as someone who has carved her own imaginative path?

Fantasy is everything. It’s what I choose to live in and what I get to inhabit through my work. I time-travel, I exist in other dimensions. And in a world that feels increasingly harsh, fantasy gives us a way to lose ourselves and, in doing so, find out who we truly are. For me, fantasy is where technique meets emotion; where we are transported outside ourselves. That’s the joy of all the roles I’ve been blessed with. They connect people across ages, across boundaries. I love fantasy when it’s like duende — when we are transported somewhere else entirely. As JASON WILLIAMSON from SLEAFORD MODS said to me recently: “We all want a holiday from ourselves.” That’s what fantasy is.

READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW IN OUR PRINT ISSUE #13.

left:
full look PRADA

right:
full look BALENCIAGA

coat and trousers ENTIRE STUDIOS
bodysuit SKIMS
shoes PRADA

headpiece STYLIST’S OWN

top MAISON MARGIELA MM6

full look GIVENCHY

left:
dress FERRAGAMO

right:
top MAISON MARGIELA MM6
skirt and trousers ENTIRE STUDIOS
shoes PRADA

TEAM CREDITS:

talent GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE at IMG
photography AGATA SERGE
3d artist ADA SOKOL
styling CAROLINA ORRICO
makeup SARA TAGALOA at Home Agency
hair AMBER DUARTE
nails STEPHANIE STONE at Forward Artists
styling assistant NATALIA ZAMUDIO
photography assistant VICTOR ALVAREZ
producer JEAN JARVIS at AREA1202
on set producer MICHELLE KAPUSCINSKI
location MILK STUDIOS
lab ART LAB WARSAW
prints TOMASZ ORLOWSKI
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
interview MAREK BARTEK
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN