Sophie Turner has been portraying Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones since the age of thirteen, and as the show slowly approaches its final season, the now 22-year-old actress reflected on one of her performance’s less heralded aspects — her hair. Chatting with Refinery29, Turner revealed that wearing Sansa’s red wig has left a mark.
"It’s almost like I have a split personality. My redhead persona is Sansa — she’s so strong and independent. So red, to me, is the ultimate strength. I’d like to think of it as my Sasha Fierce moment, but I’m no Beyoncé. With the blond, it’s like I’m back to being Sophie. That felt empowering as well, because I was leaving my teenage years behind and becoming a woman."
That sounds similar to Turner’s on-screen counterpart. As for that red hair, Turner also discussed the move from dyeing it in the first few seasons, to wearing a wig — something her Thrones co-stars do more than you might think.
"I could not count the amount of wigs we use on that show if I wanted to — almost everyone wears one. A lot of the guys will have hair inserts glued on that they probably don’t want people to know about, but it’s true. Or they’ll do beard wigs, or use little pieces of hair to fill in the gaps in their beards."
Whoa. We need names, please. Turner also touched upon the transformation required to play the titular role in the film Josie, “I had to bleach my hair for a movie that’s coming out next month and I had all these badass tattoos all over my body. I looked at myself in the mirror and I was like, ‘This is so far from my redheaded, pale, clean-cut look.’ That was really fun for me. I only have a few tattoos — maybe three or four.”
One of those tattoos is, of course, her matching tattoo with Game of Thrones co-star Maisie Williams (Arya Stark). “It’s the date we both got Game of Thrones, but you can’t really see it. I had a deal with my mum.” And as Thrones comes to a close, Turner has begun to look to the future. Where might the young actress draw the line in order to secure a role? The actress had a very specific answer.
"I don’t think I could voluntarily shave my head for fear of what it would look like. I have a tiny pea head and broad shoulders, so I don’t think I could do a really short haircut. But who knows? When Game of Thrones comes to an end, maybe I’ll have something of an Emma Watson cutting her hair short moment — maybe I’ll go crazy."
It turned out pretty well for Lena Headey (Cersei), even if her haircut was anything but voluntary.
Next: Will Game of Thrones have multiple endings? Maisie Williams throws cold water on the idea
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