Though Nathalie Emmanuel is starring in Armani Beauty’s campaign for their Luminous Silk Foundation landing in January, the Game of Thrones actress first fell in love with the brand for its clothes. “I really became connected to the brand in more recent years through fashion,” she says. “I think maybe as a teen I’d been gifted a perfume. But my appreciation has been in much more recent years, because I’ve been lucky enough to wear their beautiful clothing.”

No stranger to the red carpet, Emmanuel has been entranced by Giorgio Armani and what the house evokes for her. “It’s very elegant,” she says. “It’s got a classic nature to it, but then also has a femininity. I’m someone who’s always liked to play in terms of fashion. I play with the femininity; I play with masculinity. And I think Giorgio Armani has always done that. They’ve always done really bedazzled, beautiful, delicate things, but they’ve also done really strong, structured designs that embrace a woman’s strength and power.”

As the newly appointed Armani Beauty Global Brand Ambassador, Emmanuel will be wearing Armani not just from head to toe, but on her face, too. The partnership is a perfect fit because Armani Beauty aligns with her own vision of beauty.

“It’s the individual who decides how they feel beautiful,” Emmanuel says. “And I think that Armani Beauty shows there’s lots of ways to express your version of beauty. I tend to look for a naturalistic style, and then I might add a bold lip or make the eyes stronger, depending on the clothes and the hair—it helps you build the character of the look. Especially with Luminous Silk—it’s something that has a nice amount of coverage but isn’t super-heavy. But at the same time, if you want to do that strong makeup look you can. So, it’s like a playground—if you want it, it’s there.”

As the face of the upcoming Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation campaign, Emmanuel uses the cult-favorite to ace her base. The medium coverage formula gives a glowy finish for up to 24 hours while hydrating skin and blurring texture. Its Micro–fil technology enables color pigments to lay flat so that it never cakes and blends like a dream. That makes it a natural fit into the rest of her everyday makeup routine.

“I really care about skin,” Emmanuel says. “In terms of makeup and beauty, I’m not about covering my natural face. I like to even out skin tone if I’m looking a bit tired, lightening up under the eyes, maybe a little color. I want to enhance what’s already there. And then, I also have a lot of fun if I’m doing a red carpet look; I do like to have fun with a bold lip or dramatic eyes, and it really is informed by the outfit and the hair. I love to create characters with my outfits.”

Makeup is so much more than self-expression or glamming up for the red carpet for Emmanuel—she also uses it to get into character for a role. “Makeup says a lot about a character,” she says. “How much do they care about their appearance, what is their job, what is their day-to-day life—all of these things will impact their makeup choices, or their clothes choices or their hair choices. And when you’re filming, you sit in the makeup chair, you sit in the hair chair, and then you put on your costume. That process from Nathalie to the character is very important. It’s essential, really, because it helps you become the character. Makeup plays a huge role.”

But Emmanuel’s preparation for a role entails a lot more than sitting in a makeup chair. “I read the script as much as I can,” she says. “I then like to write a backstory, about who is this person before we met them? Where have they come from, why are they who are they are? I like to build little anchors, and so in the moment, I can draw upon those things. And also obviously collaborating with your fellow actors and the director. It really is about building out a lot of the world that isn’t on the page.”

Emmanuel has portrayed an impressively diverse range of characters throughout her career, notably including Francis Ford Coppola’s much-anticipated upcoming Megalopolis. She chooses her parts carefully. “It’s a multitude of things,” she says of selecting roles. “I read the script and decide do I like the story, do I like the characters, is it something that I feel I’m going to be challenged by?” she says. “Sometimes it’s something as simple as an instinct. I’ve done so many types of roles, which have all been really fun and have thrown up interesting work for me to get my teeth into. I’m always looking for multifaceted characters that lean away from stereotypes and archetypes. We’re seeing more and more of these kind of brilliant parts for women.”

For now, it’s her new role as Armani Beauty Global Brand Ambassador that she’s focused on, and the message she wants to convey. “I see it as embracing your individual beauty,” Emmanuel says. “We’re in an age where we compare ourselves to everything because of social media. I think we have to be empowered to express our own version of what we think is beautiful for us as individuals. I’ve had my own journey to acceptance with my own appearance. Makeup is a way to help us, but it really is about enhancing what you are naturally. Everybody’s beauty is worthy of celebration. I would like people to feel empowered to be their own version of whatever they consider beautiful.”