Gwendoline Christie is the latest personality to have appeared in Vogue's Life In Looks video series, where celebrities break down their most iconic looks from the past few years.
The Game of Thrones actress - who played armor-clad knight Brienne of Tarth in the fantasy-drama series - is known for her unconventional looks. Standing at 6'3", Christie has been open about her struggles in the entertainment industry, saying that she believes her height has played a factor in which roles she's managed to take on.
For example, Christie's role as Brienne of Tarth meant that she had to adopt an ultra-masculine appearance as her character was often looked down upon for her looks, especially given that she'd dedicated her life to becoming a knight. "That character was having to overcome a lot of shame regarding the way society treated the character. But this is a character who is bold and assured and proud," she reminisced.
The 44-year-old added: "I had to take my hair away. I had to acknowledge my height, my strength, my size, my androgyny, and also my vulnerability. But I also had to really go down to the gym!"
"It took a long time for me to feel embraced by the acting industry, but the fashion industry did embrace me," Christie says in the Vogue video. "For everything about me that society said didn't work. For everything about my loudness, my opinions, my sense of humor, my desire to change and transform, and simultaneously demand to take up space with the body I was born into."
In the clip, Christie is shown an image of her character Larissa Weems, who appeared in Tim Burton's Netflix series Wednesday. The actress - who has also starred in Star Wars and The Hunger Games - immediately praised the show's costume designer Colleen Attwood.
"I was overwhelmed to have the opportunity to work with Colleen Atwood," she said, adding: "Tim Burton said to me, 'Do whatever you want with the character' and that was a gift."
As such, Christie and Attwood were inspired by the heroines in Alfred Hitchcock's movies (most notably Tippi Hedren in The Birds).
"Colleen and I had these wonderful fittings where she has a laser-like mind. She always made me feel celebrated. She made me feel that my body was beautiful - that I was beautiful, that I wear clothes well, and that my ideas were welcome and relevant," she stated, recalled that she had been thrilled as she'd "never been cast to look that way."
In the past, Christie has been transparent about how she's felt celebrated in the fashion industry, stating (via The Independent) in 2019: "When I was growing up, fashion for me was the most immediate way of transforming. Different energies. Different emotions. Different people.
"I think, because my body seems to draw such extreme responses from people, that, well... it's fight or flight, isn't it? Sink or swim. You either exist in a state of shame about not fitting into society or you embrace what you have [...] As time goes by, you become very aware of your own mortality and you want to inhabit who you are fully," she added.