Sophie Turner is opening up about her early days as one of the stars of Game of Thrones, revealing that rewatching the show is too “embarrassing” to handle.
Turner, 29, played Sansa Stark on the HBO super-hit from 2011 to 2019, earning an Emmy nomination for her role. The actress is now getting candid about her time on the iconic series.
“I learned how to act on that set, and now I’m thinking: that’s not how to do it,” she said in an interview with The Guardian.
Turner began filming Game of Thrones when she was just 14. It was her first television role. She describes the experience as her being “thrown in at the deep end.”
“That’s not what I do these days. It’s very embarrassing. Imagine if you were learning to sing, and all your lessons had been filmed and broadcast. It’s just an uncomfortable experience. I think the imposter syndrome remains. But I don’t think there’s any actor who doesn’t have that,” she said candidly.
“Having an aristocratic background, as Sansa, and coming into a scene, having to command authority over these very seasoned actors, it was really funny. It felt so foreign and so wrong,” the actress added.
Turner also gave a nod to the “fierce fan culture” surrounding the series, an adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series. “Once you feel their enthusiasm,” she said of fans, “it makes you work 10 times harder than you would have done. You just don’t want to let them down.”
Turner also echoed the sentiment of her co-star Emilia Clarke, who recently revealed her “mental breakdown” after the series ended.
“After Game of Thrones finished, I didn’t know what was up and what was down,” Turner admitted. “I needed to discover who I was.”
The now-seasoned actress is playing the role of Lara Croft in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s upcoming Tomb Raider for Prime Video.
Turner was married to pop star Joe Jonas from 2019 until their divorce in September 2023.
