And now, here's 6'4" actress, Gwendoline Christie, who will be playing Brienne:
George Martin diplomatically says, "Gwendoline gave a great reading, and her look was just perfect. No, when she auditioned, she did not look she does in the photo above. She came in looking... well, like Brienne." (If you haven't read the books, Brienne's famously hideous.)
The photographs are by Polly Borland, and here's an article from a few years ago in which she describes hounding Gwendoline until she agreed to do a photo shoot.
And here's a video from last year:
