Gwendoline Christie: Game of Thrones is great because its women 'kill people and make decisions, pick flowers and get their tits out'

Christie praises George RR Martin for creating such strong female characters

Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones (HBO)

Gwendoline Christie has revealed that the wealth of strong women in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books first attracted her to Game of Thrones.

The British actress plays warrior Brienne of Tarth in the hit HBO series based on Martin's novels and her character is among the most determined and least conventionally feminine.

"I thought [the books] were fabulous because there were so many women in leading roles," Christie told The Sunday Times. "All sorts of women, not just whores or princesses, but princesses who were whores. Evil women. Brilliant, clever, strong women. Women who could be mothers and murderers."

The 36-year-old was worried showrunners would dilute the dynamic variety of female characters for television, but luckily was proved wrong.

"They didn't, and it is the one action drama that is led by women," she said. "There is a lot of sex but they also get to kill people and make decisions, and be dictators and pick flowers, and have dragons and get their tits out."

Christie recently finished shooting what sounds like a huge battle scene over a gruelling three days. She stopped short of sharing whom the fight involved, but it involves "really vicious, up-close, thuggish fighting", so you can look forward to that one in season six.

Elsewhere, on the big screen, Christie will next be seen as Commander Lyme in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and as Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Martin's sixth novel The Winds of Winter is believed to be arriving (after a four year wait) sometime in 2016, while Game of Thrones is expected to return next spring.