Nathalie Emmanuel on Pandora's new campaign, diversity and fashion

Pandora is on a mission to spread some much needed Christmas joy this season, with its new holiday campaign.

In collaboration with the renowned animation studio, Andy Baker Studios, Pandora revealed a short film named ‘One Lovely Day,’ to help spread holiday spirit and love.

In a time when togetherness is needed more than ever, Pandora has brought together Millie Bobby Brown, Coco & Breezy and the Pandora Muses – Nathalie Emmanuel, Halima Aden, Georgia May Jagger, Larsen Thompson, Tasya Van Ree and Margaret Zhang – in a new colourful, virtual world.

We sat down with Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel to chat about Christmas, fashion and diversity.

What is your relationship with jewellery is and how personal is it to you?

Well, it's very personal. It's linked with memories, and I tend to be the kind of person that loves trinkets and like I collect things from different places and different in different times in my life. I tend to buy things and wear them for years and years and, you know, they're just like your memories on your hands or in your wrist or around your neck.

That's why Pandora really is so cool because they literally create such beautiful, unique little trinkets with every charm. You can create something that speaks to you personally, and someone will always remember that charm that they got for a certain occasion.

SHOP THE PANDORA CHRISTMAS COLLECTION NOW

I'm also a huge fan of gifting people the same thing, like my mom and my sister. I like to give them something that I own so they can look down at a ring or a bracelet and think of me and know I've got it where I am as well. It's sort of like when you were kids and used to have like a best friend next friendship bracelet or something.

How do you feel being part of a campaign of such a big brand that is diverse?

Well, I think it's incredibly important and it means a lot to me, really, because, you know, I grew up not seeing myself represented anywhere. And so for me to exist in any space in media, whether it be in my industry of acting and performance, or in a kind of media, especially in the fashion world is a change.

I never felt that was the case for me growing up. So it's incredibly important to see such a diverse, beautiful, talented, creative group of women who are so unapologetically themselves. And everything that makes them different adds to their beauty. Somebody will connect to it in some way and feel represented and so seen and and that's just so, so important.

And it's more than box ticking, isn't it?

Right, exactly. I mean, obviously, there is a desire to push for inclusion and diversity and for some it might still feel that way, but I think it's really important that people are proactive and are making active choices to diversify until it's not something that's unusual or strange to do.

Because the truth of the is is like if people start to see a brand like Pandora embracing people of all backgrounds and races and religions and genders, you basically an example and other people are encouraged to do as well.

The new campaign is all about spreading Christmas cheer. Do you have any Christmas rituals that you have?

It's a bit strange actually, to talk about, with the way the world is currently. But my ritual is going home, because I spend so much time away from my from my family and from my people, Christmas is the one time where Hollywood really does shut down.

What I love is being in the same place as my mom and my sister. This is the first Christmas that probably won't happen, which is really sad. But I would rather keep them safe and have them be safe than anything else.

I do look forward to watching Christmas movies, and one of those that we always watch is with my mom, my sister, and I loved that growing up as a kid and: The Snowman.

You're currently filming Army of the Dead, and have been in Game of Thrones and Fast and Furious, which are all quite like strong action women. Are you drawn to roles that don't paint women as victims or love interests?

I'm definitely drawn to those women. Well, especially ones that aren't a damsel in distress, but who are exceptional at something and are very capable in their own right. It's cool to explore a character that has a very specific skill or talent, I get to challenge myself into something new.

But at the same time, like these kind of big action roles are so much fun to do. Like, I have a lot of fun, but I'm still very much drawn to the more independent film, kind of more everyday stories, not in these heightened reality things.

What I am always looking for is the women that are kind of problematic, we still want to root for them and they have to figure stuff out and they make mistakes and they're not always good. That, for me is just much more interesting to play and I think that's just more reflective of everybody.

My character in Four Weddings is very much like that. We liked her, but we also were like 'you did a bad thing to say, which is a bad idea', just a bit more realistic really. But I don't mind being a love interest. People always love watching romance. It always makes them feel good.

You seem drawn to colourful and joyful outfits. What influences your style, if anything?

I have embraced colour much more recently. My stylist has really encouraged that more, when we first started working together, she was a bit like family. She said, 'you can't just wear black suits or black jumpsuit, like as great as they are and how great you look wearing them, like we need to bury it'.

Now I'm like choosing the bright, colourful things on my own, she's definitely challenged me.

I like to play on the spectrum a lot and just see what styles can blend together that might be more traditionally masculine or more traditionally feminine.

I like throwing out these ideas of what what gender looks like or what your gender should look like. I love experimenting with all of that and just figuring out what works for me. And my mood will really dictate that as well and the kind of energy that I'm carrying on any day.

It makes more sense, to dress how you want to dress rather than follow certain trends or certain rules.

Yeah, I mean, there's lots of trends and they change all the time, and often I look at trends and I'm like, 'yeah, no, that's not for me'. And sometimes I'm like, 'oh, that's really cool'. But I don't tend to really care about trends too much.

Every season there are trends in fashion, of course, that we all consciously or unconsciously kind of adopt. But, you know, I think I like to see my own personal wardrobe like this. I'm very kind of open as long as I feel comfortable. Yeah, that's a good rule to live by.