Gwendoline Christie on Wednesday’s LGBTQ+ appeal: ‘Being different is what unites us’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Gwendoline Christie is celebrating Wednesday’s connection with LGBTQ+ fans, praising the way Tim Burton champions outsiders with his work.

Speaking to Attitude following the release of Season 2, Part 2, Christie reflects on the evolving legacy of her character, Principal Larissa Weems – Nevermore Academy’s towering principal who was dramatically killed off in Season 1, only to return as Wednesday Addams’ spirit guide.

She shares in an exclusive interview: “What I love about Principal Weems is she’s a lot of different, conflicting elements. You have someone who was described as always being second place to Morticia [Addams] at Nevermore and has grown up, I feel, striving to overcome the obstacle. And when we see Weems, she’s very self created, so she’s very in charge of her image.”

“She believes passionately in people embracing the outcasts, embracing their otherness” – Gwendoline Christie on Wednesday’s Principal Weems

In Season 2, Weems’ ghostly return sees her guiding Wednesday through visions, dreams, and eerie encounters. Her presence is both protective and provocative, challenging Wednesday to confront truths she’d rather avoid.

Christie adds: “Her image is very commanding, but also she believes passionately in people embracing the outcasts, embracing their otherness, but also having a very progressive attitude with the school and has very strong held views on inclusion and integration with the normies and with society at large. So I like that she’s very constructed, but has extremely liberal views.

“I also like that within that, what we’ve seen from series one is that she has to be very strategic. It’s not that she has a pure sense of moral good. She believes in success and she believes in Nevermore being rich in resources. So she’s also prepared to do whatever she has to do in order to succeed, which is quite interesting.”

Christie then reflects on why the show, as well as Weems herself, resonates with LGBTQ+ audiences, praising director and executive producer Tim Burton for championing outsiders.

“That I’m really, I’m really delighted about” – Christie on Wednesday resonating with queer audiences

Moved when told about her impact among viewers, she replies: “Well, I’m truly delighted to hear what you say. To me, it wasn’t something that I was aware of that Weems was – and the show – was resonating with LGBTQI communities. That I’m really, I’m really delighted about. But I think that there’s something about when one feels othered and we can… people can unite in that feeling.”

“They can be very different sorts of people from very different backgrounds that it can identify in many different ways. But the feeling of being othered is what can unite people. And I think the show is about being different and celebrating that.”

“And I think that’s what Tim Burton’s always done so well, is that he’s always been about the outsider. He’s always been about people who feel like weirdos or people that want to present themselves in a way that is highly decorative or outside of the immediate mainstream conventions of society.”

“So I also think the show is made with a huge amount of heart and love and by people that have had experience of some sort or another of that kind of feeling, and that we all want to provide not just entertainment, but open up our souls a little bit about that feeling and to offer that shared humanity.”

Wednesday Season 2, Part 2 is available to stream now on Netflix.