Maisie Williams was cast as Arya Stark on Game of Thrones when she was just 12 years old. When the first season aired on HBO in 2011, she was 14. From there, the show became a pop cultural phenomenon, and Williams spent much of her formative years at the center of a media firestorm. It can be tricky for teenagers to discover who they are under normal circumstances, and under those circumstances, it was especially tricky.
Williams ruminated on that period of her life while talking to The Sunday Times. “I was so lost for so long and I knew that I was, and when I couldn’t pin down what I felt my identity was within that, it brought me a lot of discomfort,” she said. “It’s hard to even put myself back there and talk about how tough it was just because I think it’s done.”
Game of Thrones was responsible for jump-starting an acting career that Williams loves, saying that “playing characters has been so enthralling.” She doesn't begrudge Game of Thrones anything, but it's easy to see how someone who have complicated feelings about the role the show played during "a really formative time in my life." It made it difficult for Williams to develop an identity outside of acting,
“It was at its absolute worst when I also was the most out of touch with myself — not knowing your identity and that kind of thing — I think rejection at that point felt so personal, so painful,” Williams continued. “I’d solely compare myself to other actresses, and the way people looked, and all of the most destructive ways that you can compare yourself.”
Since then, the 26-year-old Williams has gotten wiser and now feels more comfortable in her skin. She also has more perspective on Game of Thrones, as she said during a recent visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "I just feel like when it was coming out, I was not even really, like, sentient yet. I sat down and watched the whole thing and finally now feel like I have perspective on it."
You can currently see Williams in the Apple TV+ show The New Look, where she plays World War II resistance fighter Catherine Dior. It's pretty far from Game of Thrones, accept that Arya and Catherine are both badasses. New episodes drop on Wednesdays.
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h/t Variety