For every Game of Thrones fan, watching the evolution of Sansa Stark’s character has been a bumpy yet extraordinary ride. From a little girl living under the shelter of her home wanting to be nothing but a queen to a fearless Lady of Winterfell who was smart enough to look through Littlefinger’s intentions, Sansa has won us over, and how!
Alongside the brilliant narrative written by George R.R. Martin, a lot of the credit goes to Sophie Turner for doing a brilliant job playing the part. But the job and GOT’s massive popularity did take a toll on the actress.
Making an appearance in Dr. Phil’s show Phil In The Blanks, Sophie Turner for the first time opened up about battling depression for about 5 years now.
She talks about how it first started affecting her when social media was on the rise and simultaneously her friends were going off to universities, making her feel lonely.
Online, trolls started leaving her hate-messages based on Sansa’s character, her acting, and even for as silly as gaining a little weight, making her very self-conscious.
“I would just believe it. I would say, ‘Yeah, I am spotty. I am fat. I am a bad actress.’ I would just believe it. I would get (the costume department) to tighten my corset a lot”, she added.
“The biggest struggle for me has been getting out of bed and getting out of the house. And learning to love yourself is the biggest challenge.”
She revealed how while acting, she kept on switching poses to hide her “big nose”. And as a result, she feels her character suffered.
She also went on to let out a secret about how her best friend Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, also suffered from the same.
The two would come back from the shoot, buy a lot of junk food from a nearby supermarket, and binge-eat all of it sitting inside the house.
“We never socialised for a couple of years”, said Sophie.
“I had no motivation to do anything or go out. Even with my best friends, I wouldn’t want to see them, I wouldn’t want to go out and eat with them. I just would cry and cry and cry over just getting changed and putting on clothes and be like, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t go outside. I have nothing that I want to do’.”
It’s really heartbreaking to see our favourite celebs crushing under the pressure that comes with stardom. We hope Sophie recovers soon and wish her good health!