Sophie Turner reveals her ‘coping mechanism’ for filming Game of Thrones’ most traumatic scenes

‘I’m sure I’ll exhibit some symptoms of trauma down the road,’ Turner, 26, added, reflecting on her time as Sansa Stark

Sophie Turner has said she “developed a coping mechanism” so she wouldn’t get “traumatised” while filming Game of Thrones.

The 26-year-old actor reflected on shooting the show’s most disturbing scenes when she was still very young, in a new interview with Jessica Chastain for The Cut magazine, which was published on 10 May.

Turner was 15 years old when she landed the role of Sansa Stark on the HBO show, based on George RR Martin’s series of novels called A Song of Ice and Fire, which became a sensational success following its release in 2011.

One of the show’s most controversial, disturbing and controversial scenes of the series involved Turner’s character. In season six, Sansa marries Ramsay Bolton (played by Iwan Rheon) who rapes her on their wedding night, while forcing Theon Greyjoy to watch. Theon (Alfie Allen) grew up with the Stark siblings and was like a brother to Sansa.

Turner, who was 19 at the time the episode was aired, told Chastain that she “developed a coping mechanism of just having the most fun in between takes” while filming the dark fantasy drama so she wouldn’t “get traumatised”.

She was responding to the Academy Award-winning actor’s question about “going into a character and then letting it go” to return to her normal life while on shoot.

“Do you have a ritual?” the The Eyes of Tammy Faye actor wondered.

“I don’t, but I kind of find it quite easy to go in and out [of character],” Turner revealed, adding, “You saw on X-Men, in between takes, singing and dancing together. It does help having people around that are also willing to step out of it as well.”

Chastain appeared as Vuk alongside Turner’s Jean Grey in the 2019 Marvel film X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

Turner continued: “And it’s just something that growing up on a show like Game of Thrones, the subject matter was so heavy that I just developed a coping mechanism of just having the most fun in between takes, so I wouldn’t get traumatised.”

When Chastain asked whether some of the show’s more graphic and violent themes have left any lingering trauma for Turner, she replied : “I’m sure I’ll exhibit some symptoms of trauma down the road. At that age, I don’t think I could comprehend a lot of the scene matter.”

Turner, who is the May-June cover star ofThe Cut, is among the stars of HBO’s new true-crime miniseries The Staircase, along with Colin Firth and Toni Collette.

She is also expecting her second child with husband Joe Jonas, after giving birth to their daughter Willa in 2020.