Sophie Turner Expects To Have "Symptoms Of Trauma" Because Of The Scenes She Had To Film For 'Game Of Thrones' When She Was A Teenager
Sansa Stark was the "Game of Thrones" character that endured more trauma than just about anyone else, and Sophie Turner is reflecting on the effect that this role had on her at such a young age.
Sophie Turner was only 15 years old when she started filming Game of Thrones. She became one of the most well-known faces in the world at a young age, which is never an easy thing to handle, but the more difficult part was the subject matter of the show. Turner opened up to Jessica Chastain in an interview for The Cut and discusses her experience filming the hit HBO show.
Sophie Turner Expects To Have "Symptoms of Trauma" from Filming Game of Thrones
Sansa Stark was raped, abused, and thrown to the side like an object throughout the series, and even though Turner played the character impeccably, it wasn't an easy job. She told Chastain that the script was a lot for her to take in as a teenager.
"The subject matter was so heavy that I just developed a coping mechanism of just having the most fun in between takes, so I wouldn’t get traumatized," she shared. "I’m sure I’ll exhibit some symptoms of trauma down the road."
Turner's mom was on set chaperoning her, and "she would be very helpful and give me snacks," but she was still a bit too young to truly "comprehend a lot of the scene matter." That's understandable, considering how heavy the subject matter was.
When Turner worked on X-Men alongside Chastain, she kept things more light-hearted. She danced and sang with her costars in between takes, and they all stepped out of their character when the cameras weren't rolling. Turner says this is a "coping mechanism" after what she went through on the Game of Thrones set.
Turner's role as Sansa Stark taught her a lot, including how to be her own person after presenting to the world as such a well-known character. "I think for 10 years, I felt like I needed to be the person that everyone else saw because I was growing up and I didn’t know anything else," she said. "Other than the character that I was playing in Game of Thrones and then other people’s perceptions of me, I didn’t have time to figure out who I was as a person."
After GOT ended, she thrust herself into family life and her marriage to Joe Jonas. She also spent more time deciding what kind of work she wanted to do as an actress.
"I feel like I’m only on the beginning of my journey of evolving into a person I probably should have evolved into about 10 years ago," Turner said.