Like many young British actors, Gemma Whelan burst onto the scene thanks to Game of Thrones (HBO), in which she played the pivotal role of Yara Greyjoy. Having cut her teeth in comedy, she subsequently drew on this experience in the hit Shakespeare sitcom Upstart Crow (BBC), and she also stars as DS Sarah Collins on the police drama The Tower (ITV), which is about to launch its third season. This essay was told to Theo Bosanquet and has been edited for clarity and brevity.
From the age of three, I remember wanting to perform. At the time, it was mainly ballet, but it grew exponentially. My parents met doing amateur dramatics, so they let me do as much as I could in terms of dancing or performing in school plays. But they didn’t push me either, they judged it really well.
Early on, I had very little money. People even donated shoes to me when I was at college studying a postgrad in musical theatre. By my mid-20s, when I had about six waitressing jobs and was doing sketch shows above pubs, I did wonder if it was ever going to work out. But there wasn’t anything else I wanted to pursue, so I kept faith and kept going.
At university I tried standup and really enjoyed it. I thought, Maybe this is somewhere to be. Then I started doing character comedy, which led to me getting an agent. But soon I began wanting to do more dramatic gigs, to flex some different acting muscles. And just at that point, Game of Thrones came along.
I was in the right place at the right time for Yara Greyjoy. I had auditioned for a sitcom called Threesome, and the casting director said he thought I’d be perfect for something else he was working on for HBO. As soon as I read the script, I knew who Yara was and knew how to play her. But my agent and I talked about it and decided that I was never going to get it. I suppose that removed some of the pressure in auditions.
Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy on “Game of Thrones” Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO
Game of Thrones gave lots of unknowns, like myself, a chance. None of us really knew what a megabeast it was going to become. I was lucky that I wasn’t optioned by HBO, so I was able to do other projects alongside it, such as One Man, Two Guvnors in the West End and The Moorside (a BBC drama about the Shannon Matthews case). It was only when I went to conventions or press events that I realised just how big it was.
Olivia Colman has said that she always worries that she’ll never work again after every job. And I think that’s the lamentation of every actor. It’s precarious, especially at the moment. So I feel very grateful that I’ve managed to keep working this year, though I’m already looking ahead and wondering what’s next.
But I’ve never lost hope, because my passion for performing has never diminished. That’s the biggest advice I’d give to anyone – turn up to everything, answer every email. And most importantly, never give up.
Series 3 of The Tower is on ITV1 and ITVX from 2 September.