Maisie Williams on working with Game of Thrones directors, her Emmy nomination, and more

Maisie Williams is the latest Game of Thrones cast member to receive an Emmy nomination. This year, she’ll be going head-to-head with her Thrones costars Emilia Clarke (Daenerys) and Lena Headey (Cersei) in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category. According to a new interview with Deadline, Williams is proud of the nomination, but isn’t getting competitive with her castmates. “I’m going to have my two girls there with me,” she said. “We always have a nice time when we’re back together. It’s never really about who’s nominated and who isn’t, or who wins and who doesn’t.”

In any case, inter-cast member competition may not be a problem, since the three actresses are up against the venerated Maggie Smith, who’s nominated for her work on the final season on Downton Abbey. Williams admires Smith, who has been appearing onscreen for over 60 years. “It’s very difficult to grow old gracefully in Hollywood, and I can only hope I get to do that,” she said.

"A career that’s so varied, and working with so many people, helping them to make their careers go better as they help you to make your career go better; that is what I would love to have."

Maggie Smith, role model

Williams shot to fame as Arya Stark, but after the show ends, she’ll have to fend for herself in Hollywood. It sounds like she has it well in hand. She pointed to her experience in method acting on The Falling as particularly important to her development. “Everything that’s happened in my career so far has happened really organically, and that’s the thing I’m going to take with me,” she said. “But when the time is right, I know I’ll be able, as an actor, to create a new character and have the confidence to do that.”

But before she gets to all that, Williams still has two seasons of Game of Thrones to film. She didn’t give any details on what’s coming, but did say the show gave her an appreciation for good direction.

"I just love sitting there and watching Mark Mylod, in particular, with his DP, P.J. Dillon, setting up the next shot. He was the first DP to light me as a woman; everyone else lit me like a child. I just love listening to them, and watching them, and if the right project came along, I would want to direct."

Mark Mylod filmed Arya’s big chase scene with the Waif. Mylod will return for Season 7, although we don’t yet know which episodes he’s directing.

Deadline also asked Williams whether she’s read George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books yet. She admitted she hadn’t. “When I started, my mum deemed them inappropriate,” she laughed.

"[A]t the time, I didn’t really understand the importance of that in my craft. I was a non-actor, never trained, and I never really had any passion for reading. I just was Arya when I was younger, and that’s kind of the way it worked out."

At this point, Williams figures she’ll wait for the series to end and read the books after the fact. “But I keep thinking how funny it’d be, if someone sees me on the London Underground reading Game of Thrones.”