Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams has revealed the dangers she faced when growing up in the spotlight.
The actress was just 12 years old when she joined the cast of the fantasy saga where she remained for the next 10 years of her life.
And while the show has put her in good stead for the rest of her career, it turns out being cast at such a young age did have its downfalls.
Chatting to The Independent, the now 23-year-old explained: ‘Even when I was 12, people were like, “Ooh, are you gonna get a drug habit and ruin your life?” That is the problem, I guess.
She pressed: ‘The fact that you’re doing interviews when you’re 12 and no one’s ever addressing why that’s a really difficult and dangerous thing for you to do.
‘Everybody wants you to have an opinion on something when you don’t know who you are yet.’
The star went on to say how she soon realised that these people who were making the speculations were not her friends, adding: ‘People just want to go where the money and drama is.
‘I wanted to really protect myself. It’s a minefield [and] it’s a challenge every single day.’
Maisie wasn’t the only youngster thrown into the public eye with the show, as she was joined by Sophie Turner who was 14 years old in the first season.
The now mum-of-one has also addressed what it was like dealing with a huge level of fame while going through her teenage years.
‘From 16 to when I turned 19, they were quite hard years,’ she previously told InStyle magazine.
‘You’re in the prime of puberty; your body is changing, your face is changing, and people still saw me as that 13-year-old girl, with no body, and thought that’s how I should look forever.
‘So, growing up and having my body transform, and my hormones, and people watching and commenting on that – that was tricky.’
The 24-year-old said: ‘Even my friends were having a hard time with that stuff, but when people are printing photos of your bad skin, that’s really difficult.’
Game of Thrones is available to stream on NOW TV.
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