Skip to main content
Young Hollywood
YH Studio

Nathalie Emmanuel on "Game of Thrones" & Being the New Girl

Nathalie Emmanuel on "Game of Thrones" & Being the New Girl

5:06·By Gemma G
Share

About this video

The lovely Nathalie Emmanuel makes a pit stop at the YH Studio to scoop us on what it was like being the new girl in town for the latest installment of the 'Fast and the Furious' franchise, 'Furious 7'! She discusses the fun she had doing many of her own stunts, plus she dishes on Season 5 of the smash-hit HBO series "Game of Thrones", where she plays Missandei, the right-hand woman to the Mother of Dragons!

CHAPTERS

KEY MOMENTS

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Read alongShow ↓
Young Hollywood

I'm here at the Young Hollywood Studio, joined by the gorgeous Nathalie Emmanuel. You are gorgeous. You are. She's beautiful. Look at in this dress. She turned up and every eye was like, "Wow." And I realized maybe I should have stepped it up on a Monday.

Nathalie Emmanuel

What do you mean? You look great. I love your jacket.

Young Hollywood

I got it. No. Damn it, I fell for it. No, I love your jacket though. I totally I totally rock that myself. All saints. I got off my bike. I rode my motorcycle.

Nathalie Emmanuel

That's cool. I didn't really.

Young Hollywood

No, that's fine. I didn't really.

Nathalie Emmanuel

You should though.

Young Hollywood

I should, right? I should ride a motorcycle if I'm wearing a jacket like this maybe.

Nathalie Emmanuel

Well, I don't ride a motorcycle.

Young Hollywood

Okay. You don't even drive, do you?

Nathalie Emmanuel

No.

Young Hollywood

You don't even drive. Fast and the Furious. Furious 7. The star. She doesn't drive. That's probably a good thing.

Nathalie Emmanuel

She shouldn't put me behind a super car. That probably sounds like a really bad decision.

Young Hollywood

No, probably something small, like a Prius. Just start easy, where it's like a little mini. But yes, Fast and the Furious. Furious 7. Yeah. 143 million opening weekend at the box office. Yeah, pretty massive. But this whole franchise obviously is big anyway. It's really evident how important the fans are to the franchise and how much the cast and how much Universal include them in the making of these films in a way. Coming into such an established saga as the new girl, it's like terrifying. It's the new girl. It's hard being the new girl anywhere. I know what you mean. In a classroom, it's hard being the new girl. Not I know, but being the new boy is the same thing, you know? It's the same.

Nathalie Emmanuel

I've never been the new girl. To clarify any rumors going around at the moment. I've never cross-dressed.

Young Hollywood

I watched the movie and instantly I was like, "I need to drive faster and I need to go to the gym." Those were the two things that I took from the movie. As long as you drive safely. Oh, we must say that, yeah. Don't drive. No. Drive fast. Have fun. Do what they do on the movie. It's fine. Go from like building to building. And the stuff they do is crazy. I am joking. It's a joke. They know they know I'm joking. Um, the stunts and you've done. This was your first time doing stunts, is that right?

Nathalie Emmanuel

Yeah, my first time. I mean, I had an incredible stunt lady called Linda Jall, and she did the very scary stuff, like jumping from moving vehicles. But um, then I got to do a lot of the close-up stuff where I still got to jump from the back of the bus, but instead of landing onto a car while it was moving, I landed into a big sponge thing, which was really fun.

Young Hollywood

Sponges are good.

Nathalie Emmanuel

It's like having all your childhood dreams sort of kind of materialize and then they call it work and you're like, "Oh my God." James Wan actually shouted at me a couple of times, like, "Natalie, you're supposed to look terrified, not like you're having the best time ever."

Young Hollywood

You're like, "There's a sponge there and I'm jumping." This is great.

Nathalie Emmanuel

Yes. Yes, so.

Young Hollywood

It's mind-blowing. It's mind-blowing. I mean, they they parachuted cars out of a plane. I mean, you don't even know what to say about that. You got to travel a lot though. This is nice.

Nathalie Emmanuel

I did, Abu Dhabi. Yeah. My first time there. It was really beautiful. Like paradise. It was so hot and the water is just like so blue and clear, like nothing I'd ever seen before. It looked like that on the movie. And the people there were just so wonderful. They were so excited to have us there. I went to the Grand Mosque, which was probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. I had the best time.

Young Hollywood

The Abu Dhabi Tourist Foundation are going to really this is great. I'm going. I'm going after this interview. You've sold it. No, it is. Oh.

Nathalie Emmanuel

You should go if you can.

Young Hollywood

But not just Fast and the Furious. Game of Thrones. I mean, if you picked two big things right now Season 5. You're going to be in a lot more in Season 5. Is that correct?

Nathalie Emmanuel

Well, yeah. They made me um series regular for season 5, which is amazing. We just are at a stage now where Daenerys is ruling Marine. Right, right. And we've lost Jorah, who's like who was her first advisor. Now that we've lost him, I think Missandei steps up a little bit more into that role.

Young Hollywood

When you film stuff like that, because it's so massive and then you watch it, is it mind-blowing?

Nathalie Emmanuel

Yeah. And as as well, because of how intricate it is to shoot scenes like that. It's we kind of shoot it in little pieces. So it's hard to sort of imagine the final product. Right. You might have an idea of what it will look like, but then you watch it and then you realize you had no idea what it was going to look like because they just surpassed all expectation.

Young Hollywood

Well, especially when suddenly there's a dragon or something right next to you, and you're like, "Oh." That's always been a fear of mine. Right. It's terrifying.

Nathalie Emmanuel

I like a dragon there. They're like proper divas as well. They're. But I love, love, love working on that show. It's also very much like a family. Right. When I get those emails to say, "Oh, I've got costume fittings," I'm like, it's like going home, you know? So I really it's it's great and I think people are going to be really pleased with the season.

Young Hollywood

The good thing is now, you're not you're not killed on. Because no one knows on Game of Thrones. Anyone could go at any moment. I mean, there seems to be no rules. Um we're at a point now where the books have kind of were ending. We're waiting for the next one. Right. Right. So there's like uncharted territory right now. You can do your stunts to protect yourself. It's perfect timing. I know. Game of Thrones. Nathalie Emmanuel. She's amazing. She's everywhere. Everywhere. Quite know what she's going to be in next, but something big.

Timestamps are approximate — click one to jump the player.

PEOPLE MENTIONED

  • Nathalie Emmanuel

    Featured guest, discusses her roles

  • Linda Jall

    Nathalie Emmanuel's stunt lady

  • James Wan

    Director of 'Furious 7'

  • Daenerys

    Character in 'Game of Thrones', Missandei's ruler

  • Jorah

    Character in 'Game of Thrones', former advisor to Daenerys

FAQ

What movie was Nathalie Emmanuel promoting?+
Nathalie Emmanuel was promoting 'Furious 7', the latest installment in the 'Fast and the Furious' franchise.
What is Nathalie Emmanuel's role in 'Game of Thrones'?+
Nathalie Emmanuel plays Missandei in 'Game of Thrones', who is the right-hand woman to Daenerys Targaryen.
Did Nathalie Emmanuel do her own stunts in 'Furious 7'?+
Yes, Nathalie Emmanuel did many of her own stunts in 'Furious 7', though a stunt lady handled the more dangerous parts like jumping from moving vehicles.
Where did Nathalie Emmanuel film scenes for 'Furious 7'?+
Nathalie Emmanuel filmed scenes for 'Furious 7' in Abu Dhabi, her first time visiting the location.
What is Nathalie Emmanuel's status for 'Game of Thrones' Season 5?+
Nathalie Emmanuel became a series regular for 'Game of Thrones' Season 5, with her character Missandei taking on a more prominent role.

FAN SHOP

YH STUDIO · FAN SHOP

Editor's Cut

MORE FROM YH STUDIO

View all →

Hand-picked by the Young Hollywood editors — the stories shaping YH Studio this week.