Gwendoline Christie on Submitting Herself for an Emmy: ‘I Had to Do It for Me’

UPDATE, August 7: Gwendoline Christie opened up about her decision to put herself up for an Emmy nomination during an interview with the Los Angeles Times this week. In the conversation, she explained that it was tough at first to advocate for herself, but she wanted to be in charge of her own journey.

“It’s something I find hard to do, like everyone else, but I would like to be in charge of my own destiny,” Christie said. “And I would like to endeavor to give myself opportunities. Particularly when working very hard on something very special and you’ve pushed yourself beyond your limits."

She added that she checked to make sure she could submit her own nomination and found it actually wasn't as unheard of as she initially thought.

“I checked that it wasn’t an inappropriate thing to do, and I was told it wasn’t. People submit themselves all the time. I truly never expected it to manifest in a nomination and I don’t think anybody else did either," she said. "But I just had to do it for me. And I had to do it as a testament to the character and what I feel she represents.”

The Emmy nod, she explained, was particularly important to her because it reflected how pop culture has evolved and embraced characters like Brienne of Tarth, the knight she played on Game of Thrones.

“I wanted the possibility of being recognized for everything that character represents, for what she’s meant to me and for the part I feel she’s played, in some small way, in the burgeoning landscape we have in entertainment of seeing women in a different way,” she said. “A more realistic way and a more unconventional way."

Original Post: Game of Thrones received a whopping 32 Emmy nominations for its final season—and the internet can't stop buzzing about one of them. Gwendoline Christie, whom you know best as Brienne of Tarth, scored a nomination for best supporting actress in a drama series, which isn't much of a surprise. (I mean, her performance this season was brilliant.) What might surprise you, though, is learning that Christie submitted herself for the recognition—and got it.

Here's why this is a big deal: Networks are generally the entities that submit actors for Emmy awards. According to the Hollywood Reporter, HBO entered Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams for this year's race—but it did not put forth Christie, Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), or Carice van Houten (Melisandre); however, all three of those performers received nominations. They secured their spots by footing the $225 entry fee and submitting themselves into the race. The Reporter says that it's not uncommon for actors (or their teams) to do this, but it is atypical for those entries to result in actual nominations.

Christie celebrated her Emmy nomination by posting to Instagram, "CANT BELIEVE IT!!!!!!????!?!!?!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #EmmyAwards #CANITTRULYBEREAL??????????"

Fans on Twitter are, naturally, living for this and using it as a prime example of advocating for yourself. "HBO didn't submit Gwendoline Christie for an Emmy so she submitted herself and got a nomination. Be your own biggest cheerleader," one person tweeted.

Check out some more reactions for yourself, below:

For those who think HBO's not submitting Gwendoline Christie was some kind of slight, the Hollywood Reporter says there is no beef between the parties and that the network plans to fully back all the nominated actors.

The 2019 Emmys will air on Sunday, September 22, at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

Originally Appeared on Glamour