Gemma Whelan believes ‘Game of Thrones’ has changed television roles for women.
The ‘Killing Eve’ star has received numerous scripts with strong female roles since starring as Yara Greyjoy in the HBO series, after previously being offered small parts.
Speaking to Radio Times magazine, she explained: "When I started out, I wasn’t really woke to the idea of female roles being big, small or whatever. I was just grateful to get work.
"’Game of Thrones’ really did change things in terms of how women are written and represented."
After playing the fierce warrior for six seasons since 2012, she has seen the impact the fantasy drama had on other television programmes by writing roles that put women "front and centre" of the show.
The 38-year-old actress added: "Obviously, it was a fantasy, but the women were painted very realistically nonetheless. Maybe not the murdering side of things, but they were independent and capable of running the show.
"But nowadays, a huge part of the writing process is making women front and centre. But that’s not to say that we should forget there are some brilliant male-led things out there, like ‘Succession’.
"There’s space for us all."
Gemma recently landed a spot in the third series of ‘Killing Eve’ as Geraldine, daughter of Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), the enigmatic MI6 chief.
Though she was delighted to join a cast, Gemma was left "starstruck" during filming knowing she was surrounded by strong female characters.
She added: "’When the casting breakdown came through for that, I was just so excited at the prospect that they would think that I was even castable to play against Fiona Shaw.
"This is the acme. There is nothing like ‘Killing Eve’. And whoever I worked with on the show – which I don’t dare speak about – I was really a bit starstruck by."
Gemma Whelan: Game of Thrones has changed roles for women
