Things I love about Game of Thrones: The theme song. The drama. Stannis Baratheon (come on, you saw that coming). The way Sophie Turner will go all mama bear on Sansa Stark at the drop of a hat. I like to think when baristas ask for her name at Starbucks, she says, “Sophie. But I play a character named Sansa. And, you know, Sansa is awesome because…” And the barista just stands there, transfixed, because you know what? Sansa is awesome. And she does get too much hate.
The latest outlet for Turner to explain how Sansa haters need to GTFO: The July issue of Nylon Singapore. We love it.
Turner attributes the hate Sansa got specifically during the first season, ostensibly because she was “weak” or “stupid,” to the fact that “people see their own faults in her character, and they don’t like facing their own weaknesses. I think if anyone was a 13-year-old girl put in her situation, they would probably act exactly the same. When I was younger, Maisie, who plays my sister, and I were in scenes together and people loved her character and they hated mine, and it really used to affect me.”
Since season one, Sansa’s gotten more adept at maneuvering through the political swamp of Westeros, even manipulating King Douchecanoe into putting himself into danger at the Battle of Blackwater. Still, explains Turner, practicality dictates that she has to be less open about her badassness than other characters: “If she had spoken up in court at any point she would have gotten herself killed. She is being compliant with the people she hates just so that she can bide her time and then she can actually get her own back. It’s fun because then a lot of the acting is in the face, and not in the words, which is nice for me to experiment with.”
In season four—scroll past Sansa’s reaction to people saying bad things about her for spoilers—
(bonus Cersei!)
…Sansa found herself in a position where she can be a bit more up front about the fact that she’s here to kick ass and take names (that dress). Turner relishes that change in her character’s circumstances. “This season’s been really good for me because Sansa has gone from a vulnerable 13-year-old girl, and she is transformed,” Turner explains. “She has been learning from all these people at court on how to manipulate others and she is actually putting it into practice now. She is becoming a bit of a dark horse. I had this scene in the most recent episode where I had to lie for Littlefinger during his trial, and at the same time, I had to put on a convincing performance. It was quite difficult but it was a lot of fun. We had a great time filming.”
Immediately after the interview, a Nylon intern poked his head in the door to tell Turner he thinks Sansa just needs to stop whining and stab some people like her sister Arya. She Hulked out and chased him into the nearest bathroom, where he’s been huddled in a stall shaking for the past six hours. Don’t mess with Sansa.
(via WinterIsComing.net)
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