{"id":145161,"date":"2018-06-23T01:15:03","date_gmt":"2018-06-23T01:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/meet-game-of-thrones-woman-of-weapons\/"},"modified":"2018-06-23T01:15:03","modified_gmt":"2018-06-23T01:15:03","slug":"meet-game-of-thrones-woman-of-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/meet-game-of-thrones-woman-of-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Game of Thrones’ woman of weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NataliaImage copyright N Lee\/Getty
Image caption Natalia Lee has worked closely with Thrones star Kit Harington <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It's probably not a good idea to get into an argument with Natalia Lee.<\/p>\n

The only female armourer working on Game of Thrones, she looks after all the show's weapons, from flaming arrows to giant catapults. <\/p>\n

She also played the fearsome Chella in season one, because they needed "a warrior who chops ears off" and then strings them around her neck. <\/p>\n

Image copyright N Lee
Image caption She's in her element surrounded by weapons <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But while she loves working with the actors, she gets worked up if anyone questions the fact that a woman is wielding swords and slingshots. <\/p>\n

"I'm constantly told, 'Women don't want to see that, women don't want to do that.' It's so frustrating," says Australian-born Natalia, 35.<\/p>\n

"We're capable of handling weapons, I've proved I can carry all of them. <\/p>\n

"My job's a learned, technical skillset, so your gender has no bearing."<\/p>\n

Image copyright N Lee
Image caption Natalia often adds the finishing touches to weapons in the workshop <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Natalia's career has been a one-woman battle - literally - to get to where she is now. <\/p>\n

It's hard to find another woman working at her level in film and TV.<\/p>\n

But despite her seniority, she still calls herself the "baby" of the Thrones crew. The men she works with are all 20 years her senior. <\/p>\n

She's worked alongside weapons master Tommy Dunne with "quite a small crew", helping co-ordinate their team, which includes model-makers.<\/p>\n

Natalia's responsibilities have included designing the huge Heartsbane Sword, which Thrones fans will know was stolen by Samwell Tarley in season six.<\/p>\n

Image copyright N Lee
Image caption Natalia did weeks of research to design the Heartsbane sword <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She clearly loves her job, enthusing about how much she loves both the designing and the "physical discipline" of working with weapons. <\/p>\n

Despite experiencing sexism during her career, her attitude towards work is unfailingly positive.<\/p>\n

Her top advice to for aspiring female armourers is: "Yes you can!"<\/p>\n

Image copyright N Lee
Image caption ...and here is the finished Heartsbane sword <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

"The job can be hard," she admits. "You're going to be the only girl in the room, quite isolated. <\/p>\n

"I'm used to men being rowdy, and getting them on your side pretty quickly. It can be intimidating for women to be outnumbered. <\/p>\n

"But don't be disheartened - most men want you to succeed and they've been my greatest allies."<\/p>\n

Natalia has kept an eye out for young women on set, saying: "If it's a stand-in or stuntwoman, I'll always reach out and talk to them, I know how it is. <\/p>\n

"Some days I'm the only woman in a male environment of thousands of men. I know it can be uncomfortable."<\/p>\n

Image copyright N Lee
Image caption Natalia's artistic flair is used in her work <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, given she's often fighting her corner, what is the appeal of her job? <\/p>\n

It's in her blood, she explains.<\/p>\n

"I was surrounded by weaponry growing up, my family was always at shooting ranges."<\/p>\n

Jobs in security led to certifications in firearms, self-defence and stunt training, before working as a civilian for New South Wales Police armoury.<\/p>\n

Jobs assisting armourers on film sets followed, and the rest is history. <\/p>\n

'Bursting the bubble'<\/h2>\n

"The lure of the film industry dragged me in," she says. "You tend to travel a lot and it's better than working in a bunker somewhere."<\/p>\n

Her job on Game of Thrones means she rubs shoulders with the actors, showing them how to use the weapons, including replica swords made of rubber and aluminium.<\/p>\n

Rubber swords are pretty common on set, as it turns out.<\/p>\n

"The movie magic, I don't want to burst the bubble!" she laughs.<\/p>\n

Image copyright Sky
Image caption Swords can have many replicas made of rubber and aluminium <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There can be 20 versions of one sword if it's used in a lot of scenes.<\/p>\n

Steel blades are only used for close-ups, but not in action scenes because they could "really chop someone's head off".<\/p>\n

For fight scenes, an aluminium blade is often used because it's much blunter and lighter, but makes the same "clank" sound as steel.<\/p>\n

Rubber can be used if someone falls off a horse or goes in water, and Natalia often touches up the paintwork afterwards. <\/p>\n

The actors could have plenty of airs and graces working on such a popular show, but she's full of praise for them. <\/p>\n

"I get all the younger girls and older ladies saying, 'Kit Harington, he's so beautiful', but he's a really lovely, polite young man," she laughs.<\/p>\n

Skip Instagram post by natalialeearmoury <\/p>\n

\n

Sub zero working temperatures, Iceland.<\/p>\n

A post shared by Natalia Lee (@natalialeearmoury) on

Report <\/p>\n

End of Instagram post by natalialeearmoury<\/p>\n

\"InstagramImage Copyright natalialeearmoury natalialeearmoury Report<\/a><\/noindex> <\/figure>\n

She recalls working with Harington, who plays Jon Snow, on a freezing glacier in Iceland, where she was wrapped in thermals while he had to contend with having his hands and face exposed. <\/p>\n

"I was still freezing, and yet he said 'Thank you' every time I put on his sword or helped him with something."<\/p>\n

She laughs: "If it was me, I would probably have been screaming, going 'Get that thing off!'"<\/p>\n

Her favourite actor, though, is Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, who she likes because he's "very competitive, very sporty". <\/p>\n

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Firm favourite: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She admires his ability to fight with one hand (fans will know the character's other one was chopped off). Natalia teaches the stars how to move around easily while wearing a sword, and how to use the crossbows, trebuchets and catapults.<\/p>\n

"They have such high standards, I'm surprised how hard they are on themselves on set," she says. <\/p>\n

"They're on camera from morning 'til night, they have to ace every scene. For the youngsters, being kids growing up on a film set instils a hard work ethic."<\/p>\n

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption The cast swapped swords for trophies at the 2016 Emmy Awards <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another firm favourite is Jerome Flynn, who plays the soldier Bronn. She describes him as fun to work with, "wisecracking and also a great humanitarian in his own life". <\/p>\n

Special plaudits are reserved for the sword-wielding actresses.<\/p>\n

Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, is "tremendously talented", having "done everything from wirework to fighting with knives and swords".<\/p>\n

The mighty Brienne of Tarth is played by Gwendoline Christie, who's a "very strong girl" who had to learn to lose her "feminine traits".<\/p>\n

Natalia says: "You go, 'No buddy, you've got to look like a bloke.' It could be something as simple as how she's holding the sword, so you have to work with fine mannerisms."<\/p>\n

But Natalia, who won't reveal any secrets when asked about the final series in 2019, says she's not entirely sad to say farewell to the show. <\/p>\n

'More to do'<\/h2>\n

"I've been stuck in medieval weaponry since the pilot - eight years. They say there's going to be a prequel but I'm out, wanting to do my own thing."<\/p>\n

Her next job is firmly rooted in modern-day warfare, on Amazon's new Tom Clancy series Jack Ryan.<\/p>\n

As for the future, she's positive but thinks there's so much more to do.<\/p>\n

"We need mentoring programmes, female apprentices and a quota for women on the crew. If one girl sees another in a workshop, they won't feel as intimidated," she says.<\/p>\n

"When we can say there's a girl who works with a two-tonne catapult and nobody blinks an eyelid, that's when we'll be on an equal playing field."<\/p>\n

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image copyright N Lee\/GettyImage caption Natalia Lee has worked closely with Thrones star Kit Harington It's probably not a good idea to get into an argument with Natalia Lee. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}