Ever since information about the The Force Awakens‘ characters began trickling out, I have been uniquely obsessed with one character and one character alone: Captain Phasma. The chrome-armored stormtrooper captain commands soldiers in the First Order, rocks a sweet red cape, and is named for the Don Coscarelli cult horror classic Phantasm, which Bad Robot is secretly working on restoring to 4K. Other than that, little is known about the ominous-looking new character. So, naturally, I had loads of questions for actress Gwendoline Christie, who brings the character to life in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Unbeknownst to me, Christie is a massive Star Wars fan, and has wanted to be a part of the galaxy far, far away ever since she first saw A New Hope many moons ago. When she got the call that she had won the highly sought-after role of Captain Phasma, Christie didn’t really have time to celebrate as she was in the middle of filming Game of Thrones, in which she plays the noble Brienne of Tarth. Thankfully though, she managed to juggle her intense production schedule and was graciously allowed to film both. Considering that she’s starring in both the most popular TV show and the most anticipated movie of the year, everything’s coming up Gwendoline. Take a peek at our interview in the video above to hear her talk about her lifelong love of Star Wars, her reaction to getting the part, and much more.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18. You can read our full, spoiler-free review here.
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist, and the author of books about Avengers and Star Wars. You can follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
The Star Wars cast made up totally fake The Force Awakens spoilers.
