Gwendoline Christie claims 'Game of Thrones' features a lot of "complex female characters" because of fan demand.
The 40-year-old actress - who has played Brienne of Tarth on the HBO fantasy series since season two - thinks it is "extraordinary" that the rise of the drama coincided with the fact the internet has given everyone an "equal voice", meaning producers could react quickly to viewer feedback.
She told Variety: "It's really extraordinary, isn't it? Because Game of Thrones has come about at a time where the birth of the Internet also really occurred with people using it regularly, having phones where they could refer to it with ease.
"And what the Internet has done is provided everyone with an equal voice, and one element was that we heard what audiences want. And what they want are more female characters, and they want more complex female characters."
The 'Darkest Minds' star is "deeply proud" to be a part of the fantasy drama because it has "honoured" author George R.R. Martin's books and reflected the "exceptional female characters" which he created in the unfinished novel series.
She added: "Something I'm deeply proud of in this show is that it has honoured the books, it has taken the characters that are so exquisitely drawn and described in the books, and maintained that and kept it in the TV show.
"And I think that this huge phenomenon that is Game of Thrones has illustrated that people want to see female characters, they're interested in those stories. And it has provided some really exceptional female characters. I'm very proud to be a part of it."
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