It wasn't all love between Maisie Williams and Arya Stark, as the actress revealed in a recent interview.
It's been three years since Maisie Williams wrapped up filming Game of Thrones. Her role, Arya, was one of the cornerstones of controversy surrounding season 8, as many were unhappy with... well, with what Arya did. I don't wanna spoil it, but then again... three years after the fact, it should be ok, right? Doesn't matter, those who've seen it know what I mean anyway. Well, it turns out that Maisie Williams wasn't too happy with Arya either, but for different reasons.
Maisie Williams Resented Arya
In an interview with GQ, Maisie Williams discussed her time on Game of Thrones, and she revealed that playing Arya Stark wasn't always all roses: She was 12 years old when she started the role, and had to mature into a woman under TVs biggest spotlight. She revealed that this was an issue for several reasons, the biggest one being that she feels like she was not exactly ready for those levels of fame at such a young age, and had she been any younger, she is not sure "what that would have done to me mentally.”
Another point on contempt is the fact that Maisie was eventually handed a bra on set, which caused a clash between who she was becoming as a woman, and who she portrayed on TV:
I think that when I started becoming a woman, I resented Arya because I couldn’t express who I was becoming. And then I also resented my body, because it wasn’t aligned with the piece of me that the world celebrated.
Still, Maisie reveals that she's also thankful for the show, which is, in her words "the greatest thing that ever happened to me". So... it's not all hate, though we can understand why Game of Thrones would leave some marks on a child actress - especially when you're one of the leading roles.
In any case, Maisie Williams is done with Game of Thrones, and she will not appear in the House of the Dragon sequel, which will be released in August this year.