Game of Thrones has made stars out of many of its young cast members, but perhaps none more charming than Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner, who connected immediately on set and kept up a very public friendship over the next several years. The two recently spoke to Glamour about their Game of Thrones journeys, their lives as young actors in Hollywood, and even a smidge about season 8.
“People always think Maisie and I are a couple,” Turner said. “I mean, I am obsessed with her, so you never know. She’s my drug. I’ve got an addiction to Maisie Williams. I actually stalk her hashtag on Instagram!”
There’s a reason the fan community has dubbed these two “Mophie”: their giddy camaraderie is infectious, but it’s been tempered by some dark times. Remember, Turner and Williams met on Game of Thrones when they were 13 and 12 respectively, and thereafter grew up in the public eye. That’s hard on anyone, but especially on teenagers still figuring out who they are. Both of them struggled, but they had each other. “I can’t tell you the amount of times Sophie said, ‘Go to therapy,’ before I actually did,” Williams remembered. “She really helped me through some messy break-ups and some friend break-ups. Whenever I’m like, ‘I need help! This is bigger than anything I can sort out on my own,’ Sophie is my point of call. I think therapy is so important. You should absolutely speak to someone, even if in your head you go, ‘Yeah, I knew that!’”
Turner agrees. “We’ve helped each other through a lot of mental-health problems, especially around body image. She’s been my crutch in that, and I’ve been hers because it seems everything she goes through, I go through. You know when girls are together a long time, their periods sync up? It’s like our emotions and personalities sync up, too.”
Body image is something both actors have grappled with, which unfortunately isn’t a surprise. It’s no secret that Hollywood puts a lot of pressure on performers to present a certain kind of way. “I’ve never felt very pretty because I’ve never been portrayed as very pretty on screen,” Williams says. “I actually think that’s really great, but in terms of how I personally feel, it’s been difficult sometimes.”
I’ve met incredible women who all look very different. They all had really positive messages for us. But I don’t know that you can ever really get away from the intense pressure of body image when you’re an actor. It was something I never cared about. I never thought I was fat until I became an actor – and I’m not fat! I don’t know any young woman that I’ve spoken to in this industry who hasn’t struggled one way or another with their appearance. I just think it’s very hard to escape. Especially when you get down to the final three for a role. You can all be really talented, but ultimately it comes down to the way you look. It’s hard not to obsess over that. I try to nip it in the bud because it’s self-destructive.
Turner has been plagued by these same kinds of questions. But again, meeting people who set their own standards helps. “When I first started out acting, I thought, ‘Arghhh, I’m going to have to be really skinny for the rest of my life,’ and I’m not naturally that kind of person,” she said. “But when it came to filming X-Men [Apocalypse in 2016], I saw Jennifer Lawrence, who is small, but curvy and not your typical ‘skinny star’. It made me feel so good that people see these women as powerful superheroes, and they don’t have to be stick thin – that’s how it should be. That’s how women should be depicted in every film.”
Then, on the set of the upcoming Dark Phoenix, Turner got some great advice from another costar. “I actually have a really big problem with not being able to stand up for myself, especially if I’m arguing against a man,” she said. “Jessica Chastain is the one that said it to me, ‘You need to stand up for yourself more!’” Apparently there was an incident on the set of Dark Phoenix where an actor “walked off set” when it was time for Turner to say her lines. A writer stood in for him, which had to feel pretty belittling. “[Jessica] said, ‘Just go and talk to him, go and say something to him!’ I’m a bit of a shy, pushover person, but I’m getting there, I’m working on it.”
Taking cues from figures like this, both Turner and Williams are interested in paying it forward and avoiding the culture of competition that can pervade Hollywood. “For a long time in my career, I didn’t really meet anyone who was mean or acted like a diva, but then I did,” Williams said. “There’s a real lack of respect when people are bitchy on set. It felt like I was back at school. It’s like, ‘We’ve all been given this amazing opportunity and now you’re making it unpleasant for me.’” Turner is determined not to be that person:
Sometimes I think, ‘Oh God, we’re probably all going up for the same roles. We’re all the same age, [are we] just going to be catty towards each other?’ But all the women I’ve worked with have been very supportive – and vice versa. I want them to do well because women should be all in it together. I go for a lot of roles that people like Zoey Deutch go for, or Chloë Moretz, but they’re my friends – I really want them to get those roles, and half the time they’re better at the roles than me anyway, so I’m fine with it. I’m glad I didn’t embarrass myself!
So all of this is pretty heavy, but beyond providing each other with a support system, Turner and Williams just have a lot of fun together, on set and off. “Even though we [play] sisters [on Game of Thrones], we tried to sneak a kiss into every scene we did together to freak everyone out a bit,” Turner remembered. “It kept them on their toes; making sure they were following the script.” Freak out the norms!
It got to the point where Williams isn’t sure they’ll be cast on the same project for a while. “Everyone on set is sick and tired of us being so loud and laughing so much!” said said. “I don’t know if we’ll work together again. I don’t know if people would cast us in something together because we are so known for these two characters. Game Of Thrones will be some of the funniest days of my life.”
As for what’s coming in season 8, Turner and Williams said nothing, because they are good soldiers. “I’ve just told [fiancée] Joe [Jonas],” Turner confessed. “But he’s so mad at me – he loves the show! Well, I have to tell someone, otherwise I’ll burst.”
Fair enough. If only it could be us…
To read even more about Turner and Williams, head over to Glamour!
To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Check out Game of Thrones swag at Entertainment Earth.
Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels
