For more fans, Game of Thrones is fading into rearview mirror, at least until HBO gets that prequel show up and running. And so it is with the cast members, with actors like Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) looking back and wondering about what their Game of Thrones characters meant to their lives, and where they go from here.
That’s a little of what Williams talked about with Farfetch, between trying on all manner of cool clothes. “I very much modeled Arya on myself,” she remembered. “I have two older brothers and an older sister who I used to fight with constantly [laughs], so her placement within her family made a lot of sense to me.”
And then the way that she dealt with trauma – particularly towards the end of the first season – was something that I could really understand. Arya was written as a child, and when you’re younger your understanding of emotions is a lot more basic. The anger and the fury that came from the trauma that she had had to deal with made sense. But it wasn’t until I got older and Arya got older that I started to understand how that can really affect someone long-term, and then I could add in those layers, you know? That wasn’t really necessary from the beginning, as I don’t think anyone at that age really understands what they’re going through until they grow up, look back and realize quite what it was. I drew a lot from how I think I would have reacted to the situations she found herself in.
The rawness of Arya’s feelings in that scene still gives me chills. I maintain that Williams was one of the show’s best finds in a cast full of great finds, precisely because she was able to radiate the purity of Arya’s feelings and mature them as the show went on. With that king of talent, Williams can do pretty much whatever she wants in Hollywood from here on out.
Image: HBO/Game of Thrones
Come September 22, it may even win Williams her first Emmy. She’s nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category alongside her Game of Thrones costars Sophie Turner, Gwendoline Christie and Lena Headey. “To be nominated in a category like that, with so many women from the show, it just feels so good,” she said.
Williams also talked about how growing up in the public eye affected her maturation. “As a famous person, people are constantly asking you about yourself, and it sort of forces you to be really aware of who you are – but sometimes a bit too much, particularly with your physical appearance. You’re constantly trying to prove who you are through the way you look, and it can drive you a bit insane sometimes.”
But, in terms of what’s on the inside, I sort of had to figure that out very quickly because so many people were asking for my opinion. It makes you really try and understand where you stand in the world, and, although it was quite a difficult way of doing that, I think for me it definitely kick-started that hunt for who I really am. I think a lot of people don’t really have that conversation with themselves, but being under a microscope definitely made me think about those things. The other women on Game of Thrones, like Lena Headey, really taught me a lot. She was always someone I could confide in.
Something tells me that no matter which Game of Thrones actress wins the Emmy — assuming it doesn’t go to someone else — the others will be clapping uproariously.
At just 22 years of age, Williams has already done a lot, including getting her own app for creatives, Daisie, off the ground. So growing up famous may have been weird, but hopefully it was worth it.
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