Three Game of Thrones stars put themselves forward for Emmys after HBO chose not to
Yesterday the nominees for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards were announced and there were a lot of surprises.
What was not a surprise to anyone, however, was the record-breaking 32 nominations for Game of Thrones.
Although the final season received a mixed reaction from fans with many disappointed - some so much so that they signed a petition for the season to be re-filmed.
Despite the criticisms, the show was always expected to receive numerous nominations for the highly anticipated final season.
What did come as a surprise to GoT fans was that three of the actors to get the nod yesterday had to put themselves forward for consideration when HBO chose not to.
Gwendoline Christie who played Brienne of Tarth, Carice van Houten who played Melisandre and Alfie Allen who played Theon Greyjoy were all overlooked by the network when it came time to choose which performers to put forward for consideration for the show's award campaign.
The three actors decided to take another route to the awards by putting themselves forward via their representatives and paying the $225 submission fee themselves.
This is not unheard of in the industry with many outsiders taking this route although it is unusual for those who do this to receive a nomination.
However, in this case, all three actors were rewarded for having faith in themselves and received their nominations.
Gwendoline Christie will go up against her GoT co-stars Lena Headey, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams in the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category.
Alfie Allen also faces tough competition from his fellow castmates Peter Dinklage and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Meanwhile, Carice van Houten is nominated in the category for Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Following the announcement of the Emmy award nominees, Gwendoline Christie posted a picture of the memo she received to tell her that she had been nominated and revealed her excitement saying that she couldn't believe it and writing "thank you universe".
Carice von Houten also shared her joy on Instagram saying that she is "excited and proud".
The official Game of Thrones Twitter account posted a tweet for each actor nominated including the trio who weren't put forward by the network.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.@lovegwendoline has been nominated for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series” at this year’s #Emmys. #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/0MU4WcUlWi
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) July 16, 2019
Home.
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) July 16, 2019
Alfie Allen has been nominated for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series” at this year’s #Emmys. #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/PJE84BId2C
Not Today.@caricevhouten has been nominated for “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series” at this year’s #Emmys. #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/AvAMStWc5y
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) July 16, 2019
It has been reported that despite not getting a push from HBO in the first stage of the awards campaign, the three will have the network's backing along with all the other cast members nominated as the campaign goes forward.
There is not thought to be any hard feelings between the actors and the network.
As the show had such a large cast and a number of guest stars throughout the series, it would not have been possible for HBO to put all of them forward for consideration.
It appears that the trio fell behind when the network decided where to draw the line.
There may have been fears that putting forward too many members of the cast might have had a detrimental effect on the chances of the other potential nominees.
Along with the nominations for supporting and guest roles, GoT stars Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington are each nominated for their leading roles on the show.
The show itself is also nominated for Best Drama Series.
