Maisie Williams calls out lack of gender representation behind the scenes

Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams discusses her switch to comedy in “Two Weeks to Live,” and the problem of a lack of women behind the camera.

Since appearing as fan favorite Arya Stark on Game of Thrones, Maisie Williams is expanding into other genres. This week, she makes her superhero debut in The New Mutants, a movie that’s finally arriving in theaters after a ton of delays. And next month, you can see her on the small screen is Two Weeks to Live, a new six-part comedy-drama coming to Sky One!

Williams plays Kim Stokes, who lost her father under strange circumstances and lives with her survivalist mother Tina (Sian Clifford). When she grows up, Kim decides to learn more about her father, which ends up getting her mixed up with gangsters and the police. But hey, at least she’s joined on her run by new friends Nicky (Mawaan Rizwan) and Jay (Taheen Modak):

Based on the trailer, Kim looks to be every bit the badass Arya was. Also, she has a list…so maybe Williams hasn’t left the character behind completely.

However, unlike Arya, the list isn’t for people Kim wants to murder, but instead things she wants to do in her life, including “Avenge dad’s death.”

With its focus on comedy, Two Weeks To Live is new territory for Williams, who told Digital Spy about the shift. “I’ve never worked on a comedy or anything like that,” she said. “And these boys [actors Mawaan Rizwan and Taheen Modak] were just the most fun to work with and every day was a pure joy.”

"I woke up at 4am smiling because I just couldn’t wait to see them and it’s just a different experience. It’s nowhere near as fun doing dramas."

Now she’s got a taste for it, could we see Maisie Williams in more comedies going forward? I’m all for it. Then again, I’m all for her appearing in anything.

The 23-year-old actor also spoke to The Guardian about a more serious topic: gender equality in the film and TV industry. While she’s happy to see more female characters onscreen, she’s concerned over the rarity of women behind the scenes.

“We’re in an interesting time,” Williams said. “We’re definitely seeing far more female characters, which is a great thing for me as a female actor. But I do think that women are being used as a token. It’s rare that you’ll see any women behind the camera or in the crew, or even female directors or writers or producers.”

"When the project is led by a man, female characters require a lot of input from actresses to bring out those “likable” qualities, like relatability. So I am relied upon to figure out how to make this character better, because clearly they don’t know what they’re doing. It doesn’t need to be that way. There’s incredible women that can be hired but they’re just not."

Over her career, Maisie Williams has used her platform to do some amazing things outside acting, from speaking out about Black Lives Matter to water equality and trans rights. At such a young age, she’s building herself as a terrific role model for young people.

You can watch Maisie Williams as Kim Stokes in Two Weeks to Live when it airs on Sky One in September!

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