Star Wars Special: Gwendoline Christie - From Tarth to Darth

Gwendoline Christie. Photo / Jason Merritt

The star of the hit television show has been recruited to the Dark Side. Gwendoline Christie talks about her Star Wars experience with Michele Manelis.

As Brienne of Tarth she's the tallest woman on television's biggest show and now she's putting her Game of Thrones combat training to good use in a galaxy far, far away.

Gwendoline Christie plays Captain Phasma in The Force Awakens, a Stormtrooper officer from the Dark Side.

Other than that: "I think that is pretty much everything I can give you but I'm working on it," she laughs.

When the seventh movie was announced, Christie was keen on getting a role in it. Well a bit more than keen.

Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Photo / Supplied

"I was like a dog with a bone about this. As soon as I heard there was going to be a Star Wars project I said 'I want to be in that' and to my agent at the time I said I really want to be in Star Wars and they said 'well, yes, of course, so does everybody'. I said 'but no, I really, really want to be in Star Wars' -- and she said 'yeah, okay, and kind of a few months went by and I said 'look, I really want to be in Star Wars ...'"

And so it went. Eventually her worn-down agent got her client a meeting with casting director Nina Gold, who had cast Christie in Game of Thrones. She got a meeting. She got the part. Yes, there was screaming.

And then there was the first day on set.

"First, I was introduced to Harrison Ford and I had absolutely nothing -- I couldn't speak and I had nothing of any interest to say and just made some noises, looked at the floor and then was sort of taken away ... which was the best for everyone so I was quite overwhelmed by that.

"There was an amazing moment at Comic-Con before we all went on stage and I saw Harrison and we were chatting and he said -- I said 'you must be used to this' and he said you are too, 'you just don't know it yet' in an incredible Yoda-like moment of wisdom."

Grab your copy of the TimeOut Star Wars: The Force Awakens special today. Inside, we've got interviews with Harrison Ford, director JJ Abrams, new villains Adam Driver and Gwendoline Christie plus a look back at the ten best Star Wars scenes - so far. And who is the NZ telly star only too keen to don the Stormtrooper helmet on our cover?