Maisie Williams spent close to a decade playing Arya Stark, one of the show's most beloved characters. However, even she admits that revisiting Game of Thrones has become a surprisingly awkward experience.
Williams played Arya throughout all eight seasons of HBO's fantasy epic, growing up in front of millions of viewers as the character went from a headstrong young girl to a formidable assassin. Seven years after the series concluded, the actress feels she has enough distance to fully appreciate the impact that Game of Thrones had on her career.
In an interview with Collider (via SFFGazette.com) for Practical Magic 2, Williams explained that facing such intense scrutiny for so many years changed her perspective on audience reactions.
"I think being under scrutiny on a show for that long just gives you the freedom to walk into anything, and it makes every new opportunity exciting," Williams explained. "You realise that you can't keep everyone happy, so you might as well make yourself happy."
Reflecting on Game of Thrones, the actress has nothing but pride for the experience and remains particularly fond of Arya, whom she describes as the "coolest character ever." However, the show's immense popularity made it difficult for her to appreciate what she was actually experiencing at the time.
"It was such a surreal experience to live, and it was impossible to have any kind of perspective on what you're making because everyone spoke about it in such a hyperbolic way that at a certain point you just can't listen anymore," The New Mutants star recalled. "I'm so lucky that I got to experience something like that in my career, which is just the dream for so many people."
While Williams can now look back fondly on the early years of Game of Thrones, watching herself in the later seasons has become challenging. "The early seasons I love, but the later stuff is too embarrassing because it feels too close to who I am now," she admitted, adding, "Some of the stuff I don't even remember doing, and I don't remember where we filmed it or anything like that. [It's] quite awkward."
As for whether Williams would be interested in returning to the role, she's not fully closing the door on it. "Maybe," she mused. "I don't know. It changes every day. Tomorrow I might say no, and the day after I might say yes. But today I say maybe."
For now, Williams appears eager to take on new challenges. It's understandable, given that she likely doesn't want to be defined by one character for the rest of her career.
As for the final season of Game of Thrones, it remains hugely divisive among fans and "embarrassing" for a whole different set of reasons.