Nathalie Emmanuel’s casting in ‘Game of Thrones’ pulled her "out of a slump".
The 31-year-old actress starred as Missandei in the HBO fantasy series between 2013 and 2019, and Nathalie admits that it was a life-changing role.
Nathalie – who previously appeared in the British soap ‘Hollyoaks’ – confessed: "That job changed my life. I really am grateful for that time, because it pulled me out of a slump. Suddenly, I was being thrown onto these big stages and I had to woman up to it.
"I had the opportunity to shape a person who had been through unimaginable things and really tell her story."
Missandei’s untimely death provoked anger among fans of the show – but Nathalie thinks it ultimately led to a "necessary conversation" about diversity in the entertainment business.
She told Glamour UK magazine: "It sparked such necessary conversation around diversity and inclusion.
"I’m used to there being only one role for the ‘brown person’, but when you’ve got a show that has so many eyes on it, you realise she represented so many people. When you kill the only woman of colour, there’s going to be a huge reaction."
Nathalie said that moving forwards, she hopes high-profile shows and movies become more representative of the real-life world.
She explained: "Hopefully there can be a discussion about representation. And, when shows of that scale are made again, that the cast looks like the world we live in."
Nathalie starred in the ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ TV mini-series after leaving ‘Game of Thrones’.
And the actress feels proud to have appeared on the show, which was created by Mindy Kaling.
She reflected: "It was a breath of fresh air because we had a British-Pakistani Muslim man and an African-American woman at the centre of a rom-com. And you’ve got Mindy Kaling, an iconic woman of colour, writing it."
Nathalie Emmanuel says Game of Thrones pulled her ‘out of a slump’
