If Brienne of Tarth was not one of your favouriteGame of Thronescharacters … you were probably watching it wrong.

She was strong, loyal and just generally kick-arse – and she was portrayed perfectly by the absolutely glorious Gwendoline Christie.

This week Christie was nominated for a (much-deserved) Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her efforts, but when her name was read out, HBO, the studio behindGame Of Thrones,may have been a bit… surprised.

The shows final season had picked up a record-setting 32 nominations, but um, if it weren’t for the initiative of Christie, plus a couple of other very important cast members, that number would’ve been at least three less.

ANGEL

There's no limit to how many nominations a studio can put forward, but for whatever reason, HBO decided not to nominate Christie, Alfie Allen (the redeemed Theon Greyjoy) and Carice van Houten (Melisandre).

But each of them took it upon themselves, paying the US$225 (AU$320) fee out of their own pockets to put themselves into the pool of contention.

And for all three, it paid off.

Christie joins cast members Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) in the supporting actress category.

Allen is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, alongside co-stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) and Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), and van Housten is nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

The summer is hot and full of surprises !! ???? very honoured !! https://t.co/fCHgL7vQwF

— Carice van Houten (@caricevhouten) July 16, 2019

Image: Instagram

According to The Hollywood Reporter, that is pretty unusual: "It is not at all uncommon for long-shot performers to be entered for Emmy consideration by their reps or themselves – but it is uncommon for those entries to result in nominations," it said.

When the internet realised Christie, Allen and van Houten were nominated thanks tothemselves, thousands of fans... lost it.

so apparently HBO didn't submit both Alfie Allen and Gwendoline christie they had to self submit and they got a nomination!! pic.twitter.com/7IsuFBAi9l

— Michael Manes (@KosmikMalex) July 16, 2019

alfie allen and gwendoline christie having to submit themselves for emmy noms after being slept on by hbo for too long pic.twitter.com/cNehJRAizB

— ????????????????????????????:･ﾟ✧ (@tali_fleur) July 16, 2019

pic.twitter.com/GevDhBoeoi

— Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) July 17, 2019

Just learned that HBO (those idiots) didn’t submit Gwendoline Christie, Alfie Allen, and Carice Van Houten for an Emmy nomination so they went ahead & did it themselves & are now in the official list of nominees THE POWER THAT’S SOME EXTRA BIG DICK ENERGY thank u i’m inspired pic.twitter.com/ZBnmlGVpxe

— Marela Aryan Balagot (@maantok) July 18, 2019

gwendoline christie, alfie allen and carice van houten submitting themselves to the emmys bc they know they're worth it even though hbo didn't want to pic.twitter.com/zhr2GVqZ7E

— lu | not today (@valkyrienoble) July 17, 2019

pic.twitter.com/ayB4GhtRbN

— Shadow lands beyond Asshai (@WolvishLamb) July 16, 2019

The absolute best part of this is knowing that each of these actors were so proud of their own performances, they felt compelled to put themselves forward for an award as prestigious and high-profile as an Emmy even without a powerful studio backing them.

This is the level of self-love, confidence and belief we should all aspire to have.

From now on, whenever we are doubting our abilities or feeling underappreciated we must channel our inner-Brienne, Theon or red priestess and DO THE DAMN THING.