‘I share this nomination with Emile': ‘Severance' star Gwendoline Christie on her favorite furry screen partner, ‘spitting blood across the wall,' and her good-luck prop

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Gwendoline Christie loves her goats — so much, in fact, that she credits her Emmy nomination to a very special screen partner.
'What can I say?' the actress tells Gold Derby. 'Emile's a star. I share this nomination with Emile.'
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Emile, of course, is the baby goat that made an instantly viral appearance in 'Cold Harbor,' the second-season finale of Severance that earned Christie her second career nomination — for Best Drama Guest Actress for playing the intrepid goatherd Lorne. Lorne teams with Adam Scott's Mark S. and resorts to extreme measures to save Emile from being sacrificed at the altar of Lumon.
Christie's first nomination came for playing Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones, a bid she famously self-submitted for. This time around, the experience was less DIY, with Apple handling the entry fee as part of a Severance campaign machine that netted nine bids for cast members and an Emmy-leading 27 overall.
'I can't tell you how over the moon I am, truly. Because I really wanted this. And it takes a lot to say that out loud, you know?' Christie tells us. 'I thought the chances of it happening were incredibly slim. And it means a lot because I'm in a different place now from Game of Thrones.'
In the following Q&A, the actress explores the differences between Game of Thrones and Severance, what her first Emmy experience was like, and the one prop from the Severance set she'd love to bring as a good-luck charm to this year's ceremony.
Gold Derby: Congratulations on your nomination. You really captivated the internet with the portrayal of Lorne. This is your second nomination, the first obviously being for , which you submitted yourself. How does that experience differ from this year with ?
Gwendoline Christie: I can't tell you how over the moon I am, truly. Because I really wanted this. I really wanted this. I really wanted it to happen. And it takes a lot to say that out loud, you know? I thought the chances of it happening were incredibly slim. And, you know, it means a lot because I'm in a different place now from Game of Thrones.
In Game of Thrones, I played the wonderful Brienne of Tarth for seven seasons. So that's a long time to live with people. And then it culminated in that extraordinary nomination that I self-submitted for, and I was hugely fortunate to be nominated. You wonder if you're ever going to do anything else that could ever possibly be considered for a nomination.
And this coming out of the blue is so extraordinary because we've only just met Lorne. But I have to say, I really dedicated myself to the part, because the show is my favorite show on television. It's one of my favorite shows ever. I was a huge fan of Season 1. And when Ben wanted to talk to me about possibly being involved in the show, I was desperately hoping it might be something to do with the goats.
So I really did dedicate myself to just trying to find out who this character is, and build this character. I truly threw myself into it, and overcame some trepidations, as well, with regards to doing combat again. I'm just truly full of joy and gratitude that this nominations happened. I really am.
The TV Academy really embraced Severance this year. Season 2 was a breakout across the board. It led the Emmy nominations and even gave a run for the all-time record. Is there a text chain where everyone congratulated other?
There were lots. Everybody was really generous and there were lots of really amazing congratulations. It's pretty it's pretty overwhelming. I am so happy for many people. The wonderful Britt Lower said to me she's still processing this. They're such a wonderful group of people and so thrilling to work with because they're so they're really highly skilled. They love what they do and they're incredibly generous. And when you work with them, you feel very held.
For the season finale, there was a special fan screening at the Dolby Theater. The following morning, I spoke to some of the cast members, including Adam Scott, and he said that was the first time the cast had watched an episode with a live audience and the fan reaction was overwhelming. His one thought was, 'Holy sh-t, this is like .' That's a direct quote. Having been in makes you an expert on that: How does the fandom compare?
It's truly glorious, because to be a part of something that people love is a real rarity and a privilege. And it's a very unifying force these days, a TV show that many of us love and can get behind and can talk about. We can forget the everyday. We can forget the larger, more serious and deeply upsetting elements in our world. We can come together to discuss a story that has transfixed us, transfixed us. It has. It has taken us over and seduced us. And we are in that world, and we want to live within it, and we talk with each other. I wasn't expecting the response.
I knew the show was incredible and knew a lot of people talking to me about the show, but being in that theater and hearing the swell of the crowd and you feel it, you feel it within you, the power of people's joy. It was it was magical. And I was really pleased for everybody between Ben [Stiller, the show's main director] and Adam and Dan [Erickson, the show creator] and everybody that works on the show. Britt and Zach [Cherry] and Tramell [Tillman], the so many incredible actors in this show. I was just thrilled that all their hard work had paid off.
You mentioned how the show is an escape from what we're dealing with in the world today, I know Dan wrote the scripts a while ago, but they are relevant to what's going on. These moments of resistance and rebellion on the Severed Floor throughout Season 2. There's this pushback against authority, and the 'Cold Harbor' ending presages a larger showdown to come. Do you think that makes feels even more resonant?
It's extraordinary, isn't it? I think it's the mark of a truly good idea. And I think we all are feeling that desire for freedom. I think we're all feeling the desire to be out of corporate binds, the pressure of conglomerates and the pressure of finance over creativity. And I think people are feeling that in every area of their lives. And when you when you're able to tap into society and into what people are experiencing, and their tensions and their fears and their desires, and are able to express it in an extraordinary story with a whole premise that we haven't seen before, that has never existed in human life, then I think that's the mark of something truly exceptional.
When there's a great piece of work that people have invested so much of themselves in, their own humanity, thenwe start to see what we want to see, or we start to see what we can't bring ourselves to admit that we're going through. All these things, come out through a great story.
You worked with lots of goats on this show, from when we first meet Lorne in Mammalians Nurturable with an entire flock in Episode 3, to those climactic moments in the season finale, where it's just you and a goat kid named Emile. What was it like working with that particular goat?
I couldn't wait to work with a goat one on one, because in Episode 3, there are 50 goats. It was thrilling to be around those goats, some of whom were eating people's costumes. One of the goats was nibbling at Adam's shoelace. Another goat was seemingly operating the camera.
And then when it came to Emile … Emile is the very cutest goat I've ever seen. And I was terribly concerned that Emile may upstage me, because that is a very cute and talented goat. But I was thrilled, actually, because the animal handlers told me that Emile and I bonded very quickly, and I was very taken with that goat. Emile is a star. What can I say? I share this nomination with Emile.
I assume Lorne will have a role in future episodes? Have you heard anything about that, or is it still under lock and key?
There is so much that is mysterious about this show that not even I can quite bring myself to ask. When I got onto the show, I said, 'Don't worry. I'm not going to ask anything.' But I yearn to explore Lorne further. This woman that has such good intentions, such good intent and such desire to protect her animals and her people and such connection to the goats that she is willing to nearly kill someone.
I'm glad she remembers her humanity, but for all of that good intent, there was a very dark well there. And in that, in that episode, we see Lorne transform. I mean, it's it's like a psychic transformation. And she becomes it's animalistic. And I would love to see what else Lorne transforms into.
Lorne is on the Severed Floor, which means that she has an outie. Have you ever given yourself an imaginary backstory for Outie Lorne, or have you are leaving that to Dan?
[Laughs] I've only ever given myself an extremely intense and detailed backstory that I've been slowly formulating over the last two, three years, however long it is. It's something that is something that's personal, and it's something that I continue to build for my own supreme enjoyment.
You mentioned you had a slight trepidation about returning to combat on screen. In 'Cold Harbor,' Lorne has a very brutal confrontation. Can you take me through how that scene came together and how you made it so convincing?
I didn't know that that was how Lorne ended up in the final episode. And I had said, since I finished Game of Thrones, that I wouldn't do any more combat. I wanted to do other things and play other characters and show the breadth of what I can do, but also explore many different types of people.
But when Ben Stiller asks you to do a fight sequence that is as detailed and intense and emotional and explosive as that one in your favorite TV show with a character that you're obsessed with, you say yes. I decided to go about it as seriously as I went about all of my fights in Game of Thrones. I went, to the gym and I spoke to my trainer, and I did my two-hour training sessions to build up my stamina, and worked on all aspect of my strength and flexibility.
I managed to end up with a bit of a bit of an injury a couple of weeks before shooting, but, I've done this enough to know that my will and focus of executing the scene would take me through it.
I wanted to bring everything to this. I wanted to make it totally alive. I wanted to honor what was written on the page, and I wanted to bring more to it. I wanted to show who this person is, who this woman is, and different ranges of this as the spectrum of her emotionality, her own terror and fear and rage.
I couldn't believe I was going to be doing this with Adam Scott. Darri [Ólafsson, aka Mr. Drummond] was incredible to work with. We all worked together. They took it really seriously and were so, thoughtful and considerate about making sure everybody was safe.
But I have to say that I did find, once again, extreme enjoyment in acting, being punched in the face, spitting blood across the wall, and exacting my revenge on my oppressor.
The Emmy ceremony is coming up fast. What was that the ceremony like for you the first time?
Really overwhelming and extraordinary. The is almost unbelievable, but when I was at the ceremony, I was sitting there and I took a selfie of my partner on my phone. And then I looked at the picture and I said, 'There's Ben Stiller on the corner. Oh, no, what if he thinks I'm taking a picture of him?' And then I felt a tap on my shoulder and I look up and it's Ben Stiller. And I think, 'Oh, no, he thinks I'm weird.' He was actually incredibly nice about my performance in Game of Thrones.
So there is something wonderfully cyclical about this. I am extremely grateful to be a part of the show. And I'm extremely grateful to Ben and to the entire team for for this nomination.
One last question: For you, Gwendoline Christie, if you could choose one Lumon department to work in, which would it be?
I'm obsessed with MDR. When I was on the set, I really went a bit weird, I went into a bit of a meltdown. 'Can I touch it? I won't touch it, won't touch it. Can I touch?' And then they let me sit down, touch computer, switch on computer, use the computer. I touched the ball thing. I was transfixed by the vending machine. It was an amazing experience, truly. But, you know, I'm just obsessed with Mammalians Nurturable. I know Lorne works there. I think Gwendoline would really want to work there too.
I don't blame you.
I love that bell.
I hope you bring the bell to the Emmys with you. Maybe that'll be a good-luck charm.
I hope so.
This interview has been edited for length.
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