Beyond the suit of armor: Captain Phasma

I was a guest of Disney & LucasFilm at the the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Global Press Event last week. All opinions are my own. This Gwendoline Christie Star Wars Interview is part of my coverage of the #TheLastJediEvent. Interview photos are provided by Louise Bishop at MomStart.com

Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie)
Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd.
© 2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

While we only just began to know Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma in The Force Awakens, many of us know her much better Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi will discover more about Captain Phasma and about her story.

"So we do see more Phasma in the film, and what we see is her resilience, her need to fulfill an overriding sense of revenge, and we see something that we don’t commonly see in female characters which is that we see this- and it manifests itself in different ways, this violence that comes from deep within her."

Christie gives us insight about Phasma's behavior. Phasma's fear and anger overtakes her, and manifests in a total loss of empathy. And that the total loss of empathy causes the person to only think about themselves and their own needs, how they feel attacked, and how they’re going to fight back.And it also becomes about the individual rather than the needs of the group. And you know, when someone exists like that, it can be those that are liberty, and those that have spirit, and are unafraid to be who they are, that those people want to eradicate; that they want to hurt."

Phasma and Brienne are polar opposites. Christie refers to Brienna as having this incredible moral compass, while Phasma has the need for revenge and to destroy.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi..Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) and Stormtroopers..Photo: David James..©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Two different suits of armor

In the Game of Thrones books, Brienne of Tarth has a brilliant suit of blue armor (Brienne the Blue), but in the series, Michele Clapton, the costume designer wanted Brienne's armor cobbled together. They were pieces she found and put together so she could have a suit of armor. "It was a literal representation of her building herself; of her self-creation."
Michael Kaplan, who also worked on the original Blade Runner, was responsible for the shiny armor we all associate with Captain Phasma. While Christie confessed she didn't want to play favorites, she definitely preferred Captain Phasma's armor.

C.C. Smiff and stunt training

Christie speaks so highly of C.C. Smiff, whom she first met on the set of Game of Thrones, and was reunited with for Star Wars : The Last Jedi. I'm sure as an actor, it helped a great deal to have a great prior relationship with him, especially for a movie like Star Wars.

"You know, he’s the person that helped to give me the courage in the first place, to say you can do more than you ever thought, physically, and to do it with a great deal of humor, and charm, and humanity. And he’s a man always sort of without ego, as well. I mean, what an amazing, an amazing teacher, and to be reunited with him, and he’s also so brilliant about how he puts things together, and how they evolve about pushing you further, and in terms of your strength.

But also recognizing, which I think is the most important thing- how to keep you safe, and when to keep you safe because I’m lucky enough to have never broken or bone, and I would like to keep it that way."

The Captain Phasma novel

By the way, Christie IS reading the Captain Phasma novel on the set of Game of Thrones during her breaks. She says it's brilliant. She's also reading it on her phone so people aren't "constantly asking about what is happening."

I loved chatting with Gwendoline Christie, it was a real treat. And I promise if I ever see her with the Captain Phasma novel in hand, I won't ask her about it.