Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner on difficulty of growing up on screen

'When people are printing photos of your bad skin, that’s really difficult'

Sophie Turner walking the red carpet at the 88th Academy Awards (Getty)

Some of the most prominent cast members on Game of Thrones - whose characters were lucky to survive more than one or two seasons - have grown up in front of the cameras.

Sophie Turner is one of them. Turner was cast as Sansa Stark at the age of 13, her education took place on set and her fellow cast members have become close friends. Now 20, she has become one of the most recognisable faces of the hit HBO series.

But Turner says transitioning from a teenager into a young adult, and building such a huge profile as a result, was one of the most difficult aspects of appearing on the show.

“That’s probably the thing I’ve struggled with the most,” she told InStyle magazine. “At first, it was the character [Sansa Stark]; people hating on her because she was a 13-year-old girl, and she should have a smart head on her shoulders and make good decisions.

“But, at the end of the day – blinded by love – she didn’t. When people started to know my name, as well as the character’s name, that was kind of difficult. From 16 to when I turned 19, they were quite hard years.”

Hitting puberty while filming naturally led to physical changes to her body and face and Turner says some of the GoT audience were quick to highlight less flattering aspects. A number commented on her image, which she found particularly tough to process.

“From 16 to when I turned 19, they were quite hard years. You’re in the prime of puberty; your body is changing, your face is changing, and people still saw me as that 13-year-old girl, with no body, and thought that’s how I should look forever. So, growing up and having my body transform, and my hormones, and people watching and commenting on that – that was tricky. Even my friends were having a hard time with that stuff, but when people are printing photos of your bad skin, that’s really difficult.”