Game Of Thrones broke an Emmys record when it garnered 32 nominations this week, but it’s now been revealed that number would be lower had some of its stars not taken matters into their own hands.
In order to end up on the Emmys shortlist, TV shows, actors, directors, writers and crew members have to be entered for a prize, and it’s up to HBO to decide who to put forward.
However, the complicated process also allows for people to self-submit – at a cost of just $225 (£180) – which is exactly how three Game Of Thrones actors now find themselves Emmy nominees.
Alfie Allen (who played Theon Greyjoy), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) and Carice van Houten (Melisandre) all put themselves forward for prizes via their representatives, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The move has paid off big time, with Alfie and Gwendoline up for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, respectively, while Carice is on the Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series shortlist.
Picking which stars to nominate can be a tricky process for TV networks, especially for shows with huge ensemble cast like Game Of Thrones, when putting too many actors forward per category could weaken the strongest stars’ chances of winning.
Gwendoline shared her joy at receiving her first ever Emmy nomination on Instagram.
Posting a picture of the official notice confirming the note, she wrote: “I CANT BELIEVE IT!!!!!!????!?!!?!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #EmmyAwards #CANITTRULYBEREAL??????????”
Her category is a particularly tough one and she’ll be up against three of her co-stars (Lena Headey, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams), as well as Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) and Julia Garner (Ozark).
Alfie is nominated alongside two other Thrones stars (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Peter Dinklage), two actors from Netflix’s Better Call Saul (Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito), Michael Kelly (House Of Cards) and Chris Sullivan (This Is Us).
Carice’s category also includes Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Apocalypse), Cherry Jones (The Handmaid’s Tale), Cicely Tyson (How To Get Away With Murder), Laverne Cox (Orange Is The New Black) and Phylicia Rashad (This Is Us).
See the full list of Emmys nominees here.