On Game Of Thrones, Arya Stark is many fans' favorite character: a feisty tomboy who makes a "death list" and swears to kill everyone who betrayed her family. After training to become a Faceless Man - an expert assassin who wears people's faces as seamless disguise - she finally has the tools to wreak bloody vengeance.
It's difficult to imagine else playing Arya Stark besides Maisie Williams. When they filmed the first episode of Game of Thrones, Maisie was only twelve years old. Now she's 20. We've seen her grow up on camera, from a child into a young woman, and the actress has totally nailed the character. (Also, it's pretty cool that she can say she spent her teenage years in Westeros.)
As Game of Thrones became a global phenomenon, its cast members were launched into superstardom. Maisie has a ton of new projects on the horizon, including a starring role as Wolfsbane in the X-Men spin-off film The New Mutants. She's also gained a huge following on social media, with over 7 million followers on Instagram. Arya may be "a girl with no name," but Maisie is one of the biggest young stars in Hollywood.
However, in a new interview with InStyle, Maisie reveals that she almost turned down Game of Thrones, for a bizarre reason. She nearly skipped her audition to go on a field trip to a pig farm. Seriously. Fortunately, she chose dragons over pigs. Maisie went to her audition, and the rest is history. Out of a pool of 300 actresses, she was chosen for the part. It was her first professional role.
Game of Thrones is currently filming its final season, which is sure to be a bloodbath. HBO executives discussed the last six episodes at a panel, and revealed that many cast members will fall to their deaths. Speaking to Instyle, Maisie didn't say if Arya Stark would survive. But she did reflect on the epic fantasy show ending, after being such a huge part of her life:
"The hardest thing about the show ending is that I'll never get to be Arya again. I do wish she shaped me to be more fearless in the industry. Honestly, no matter what else I work on, I'll miss playing her.
"It's just strange as it's everything I've ever known, but also any interview I ever do ends up talking about this show and where it's going and what's going to happen, and this is it – I know what's going to happen."
But if you're hoping Maisie will tell you what happens, a girl doesn't give spoilers. It is known. "I would only ever tell someone a spoiler if I didn't like them," joked the actress. "I should use it as ammunition."
And when they finish filming, maybe she'll finally go on that field trip to the pig farm. Fear of missing out, and all that.
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