Christie, whose only credited role to date was in the 2009 film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus , stands at 6'3 and was the top choice by many fans of the novels and show to fill the part awarded to her. Here is a bit of background on the character:
Brienne Tarth is the only daughter and heiress of Lord Selwyn Tarth of Evenfall Hall; she had three siblings, none of which survived childhood. Larger and stronger than most men, Brienne is a skilled warrior and longs to be a knight. She has an awkward personality, but is also honest and stubborn. She holds a naïvely idealized notion of knighthood despite the insults she receives from many knights, who call her “Brienne the Beauty” to mock her ugliness. She is also known as “Brienne, the Maid of Tarth”, but her most common and neutral nickname is “Brienne of Tarth”, as she is both from the House and island of Tarth.
Game of Thrones stars Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Iain Glen, Aidan Gillen, Harry Lloyd, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Richard Madden, Alfie Allen, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Jack Gleeson, Rory McCann, Peter Dinklage, and Jason Momoa. The series is executive produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; co-executive producers, Carolyn Strauss, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, Ralph Vicinanza and George R.R. Martin; producers, Mark Huffam and Frank Doelger.
Source: http://hbowatch.com/gwendoline-christie-cast-in-game-of-thrones-s2/
