There was something different about Tim Burton’s “Wednesday” set for Gwendoline Christie. As the “Game of Thrones,” star told Entertainment Weekly in an interview on Nov. 24, joining the dark and fantastical world as Nevermore Academy‘s Principal Larissa Weems was actually the first time she ever felt “beautiful” on screen. She credited this transformative experience, in large part, to Burton, who worked with Christie to develop her character as she saw fit. “He said, ‘You can do whatever you like with the character, feel free to make it whatever you want and we’ll keep talking about it,'” Christie said.
“This idea kept coming to me of Larissa Weems being someone who was an outcast, who went to a school for outcasts, that was always second best and was always in Morticia’s [Catherine Zeta-Jones] shadow,” Christie continued. Eventually, she landed on the idea of an old-school “screen siren,” envisioning classic Hollywood glamour and even watching old Hitchcock films to see how the characters conducted themselves. “What kept coming to me was this idea of this Hitchcock-style heroine,” Christie said. “And weirdly, Tim had exactly the same idea and so did Colleen Atwood.”
Atwood is a renowned costume designer who Christie also credits for helping her become Principal Weems in all her glory. “It is the first time I’ve ever felt beautiful on screen,” Christie said. “I cannot express my extreme gratitude more heartily to Tim and Colleen and our hair and makeup team. Colleen Atwood is rightfully a legend, and what she does is close to witchcraft in terms of transformation.”
Not only was Atwood incredibly collaborative, but Christie added that Atwood also allowed her to feel more confident in her own body. “The way she made me feel was [that] my body felt celebrated and beautiful. Never once did I feel like there was something to hide or something to be ashamed of,” Christie said. “She made me feel incredible.”
