Can someone please start an It Gets Better project for Sansa Stark? After arriving in Kings Landing with visions of queendom dancing in her eyes, Ned Starks eldest girl lost her father to an executioners axe, the rest of her family to a civil war, and her delusions about her fianc King Joffrey to his general repulsiveness. In the latest episode of Game of Thrones, she finally had the chance to let it all out, warning newcomers Olenna and Margaery Tyrell that the man Margaerys planning to marry is a monster. If things dont work out between her and Loras Tyrell, Im calling her guidance counselor.
But Sophie Turner, the young actress who plays this damsel in distress, points out most characters wouldnt have lasted nearly as long in her situation. As a performer, she brings that quiet but steely strength to every scene, even when Sansa thinks her life is on the line depending on what she says next. And she has little patience with people who dont have the patience for Sansa herself.
I cant spend 15 minutes on my Tumblr dashboard without running into some huge wall of animated GIFs of you on a red carpet someplace defending Sansa from her haters.
Really?
Yes. Its a very popular phenomenon.
I never go out of my way to do it, but I get very passionate when people say to me in interviews, Sansa basically killed Ned. Im like, Oh, nooo. Let me tell you why. It frustrates me when people dont see where Im coming from. Im just very passionate about her.
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Its not like she came to her initial mindset about how the world works on her own. Her parents and teachers taught it to her.
In Season One, for example, shes put in a situation where she was asked to talk about Joffrey getting bitten by Nymeria, Aryas direwolf. People are always saying Oh, that was your fault, blah blah blah, that [Sansas own direwolf] Lady got killed [in retaliation]. But if shed have defended Joffrey she wouldve sabotaged her own family, and if she defended Arya, then her future, which her parents planned for her, would be totally gone. So she went down the middle. I dont . . . [dramatically] I just dont understand some people. [Laughs]
I wish Id had the lives they apparently had, where they never did anything they regretted at 12 or 13.
Yeah. Its a shame they dont realize that if they were in the same situation, they would do exactly the same thing.
By this point in the series, its clear Sansas a survivor. Her siblings may all be better with swords, but Im not sure any of them could have hacked it in her specific situation at court.
Its actually good for her that shes ended up in court, because none of the fighting is done physically. Its more done verbally, or behind peoples backs. Its very much more subtle and a lot more secretive. If any of the other Starks or anyone else, for that matter was put in that same situation as Sansa, if theyd have fought back then, they would be dead right now. Sansa adapts to her environment very well.
Thats the tension of Sansas big scene in this episode. After all this time spent holding back her emotions, Olenna and Margaery invite her to tell the truth. It looked like an excruciating decision to make.
Yeah, but the thing about the Starks is theyre very loyal and very truthful people. When Margaery and Olenna ask Sansa what Joffrey is like, Sansa feels this bond with Margaery. She feels like an older sister to Sansa, and so Sansa kind of feels like she can tell her. She wants to protect her family, and thats the only family she has left, because she doesnt know where the others are. Thats why, I think, she tells her Margaery is giving her so much advice that she feels like she needs to do the same.
I never even thought of it that way. I always framed it in terms of Sansas self-preservation, but its really fascinating that youre like No, even in this kind of desperate moment, shes looking out for the well-being of others.
Yeah. Thats how I interpreted it, anyway.
As an actor, youve been tossed into the emotional deep end over the course of the show so far. At the end of the day, how do you shake that off and go home?
I guess Im just a very depressed person inside and I dont realize. [Laughs] I find it quite easy to get in and out of character. I dont know why I guess its my job. Its quite nice coming off doing a dark, upsetting scene. Its a relief that thats over with, and then you can get back to happy old Sophie.
Another facet of this scene is that it involves three women, a kind of interaction you dont see a whole lot on big-ticket dramas. Sansas also spent a lot of time with complex women characters like Cersei. Is there anything different about that gender dynamic, as either a character or a performer?
Its nice you have this male-dominated world, and its only through the eyes of the viewer that you see the women are just as capable of all the things that the men are, but the men dont really see that themselves. In scenes like this, the viewer gets to see the women plotting or conspiring together, and its very unique. The fact that Olenna and Margaery adopt Sansa, in a way, brings a whole new element. This new relationship between Sansa and the Tyrells theres a conspiracy between them. Its very interesting to see the women doing that, because you dont see or hear about that in the history of medieval times. But we get to see it.
Natalie Dormer pointed out to me last week that Margaery has a freedom many women lack because her family is run by a woman. Now Sansas been sucked into that dynamic.
Yeah, and its very refreshing to see Sansa kind of sucked into that as well, because all her life, really, shes been surrounded by men. I mean, apart from her mother. Even Arya has this very boyish, tomboyish way about her. I think thats partly the appeal of Olenna and Margaery theyre so alike to Sansa in that way that she feels this connection with them, this bond with them. Because shes such a strong individual female joining the ranks of Olenna and Margaery, both incredibly strong, it works. Its a very powerful threesome, I feel.
Im glad to hear you use the word strong. Its probably kind of important to reclaim the concept of strong female characters from characters who can physically kick your ass to simply mean female characters who are strongly written.
I think the strong thing about Sansa is the fact that she doesnt fight. Fighting alone can be seen as a very strong thing to do, but the fact that she doesnt fight and she doesnt strike back is probably her best trait. Having to resist the urge to fight back which, you know, Im sure she has is in itself one of the best things about her. In that sense, shes very strong, and shes very strong-willed, and she has willpower. Thats very important in this world, because if someone had fought back theyd be dead. Because . . . Joffrey. [Laughs]
Everyone I know whos ever written about the show hates that character but loves the actor who plays him.
Oh, yeah. I mean, how can you not love Jack Gleeson? Hes amazing. Hes the nicest guy. Hes probably the nicest person on the show! Its so funny.
As actors, youre not doing voiceovers that narrate your inner thoughts the way the books can do with prose, but as flesh-and-blood humans you can constantly compensate with facial expressions and body language and voice pitch and so on. I think a lot of readers have returned to the books with their views of the characters informed, or even transformed, by how the performers embody the characters. Thats certainly been the case with Sansa for me. Do you take that book-to-show feedback loop into consideration?
Yeah, I do. I definitely do. We use the books as a way of finding out the characters inner thoughts. Our job is to portray them onscreen without doing a voiceover kind of thing. Its very difficult. And its also very difficult when people have an idea of what the character is supposed to be like in their heads. I dont go out intending to please every single person that watches the show I just want to please [author] George R.R. Martin, [showrunners] Dave [Benioff], Dan [Weiss] and the people that write the script. They have this idea of the character in their head, and I just want to do justice to the character instead of having to please all these millions of fans. I mean, obviously it would be nice to please them . . . [Laughs] But I dont set about doing that. Its doing justice to Sansa. I think thats the only thing you can do. Its definitely difficult embodying the character, especially when its such a controversial character like Sansa, but its a lot of fun. I like the fact that we have the books to back up our knowledge of the character and give the backstory. Its perfect its really helpful. It helps the character become very human.
Last, and probably least, I want to throw a bone to the SanSan shippers out there in the fandom, who want to know if Sansa will wind up with Sandor The Hound Clegane someday following their interactions during Season Two. Without spoiling anything, do you have an opinion on that particular matter?
I mean, I dont necessarily . . . what is it, ship them? I dont necessarily ship them, but I think their relationship is kind of different its very unique, its very beautiful. I wouldnt put them together romantically. I just think its a very empathetic relationship from the Hound towards Sansa. Hes Sansas knight that shes been wishing for, but shes never really realized that the Hound is that person that shes been dreaming of all along. So I think its a very beautiful relationship. It would be nice for Sansa to see the Hound again, because theres definitely a platform built for the characters and the potential for the characters to have more experiences with each other. I do hope that something happens in the future, that they meet up again or something, because it would be lovely to build on that relationship that weve established.
Can at least let a few years go by? Maybe he can sober up and calm down a little bit before we start worrying about settling him down in some way?
Yeah, that would be nice. Hes a bad example.
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