Maisie Williams discusses her role as Arya Stark

We’re in the home stretch before the Season 5 premiere of Game of Thrones, and the cast are out in full force, doing interviews with various websites and magazines, hyping the upcoming season. Maisie Williams recently sat down with Flicks and the City to discuss her role as Arya Stark, among several other topics.

The first question on the docket has been asked of Maisie several times: “What do you think is Arya’s ultimate goal in Game of Thrones? What is the perfect ending for Arya?” We’ve seen her answer this in many different ways, usually in a more lighthearted manner, as she did in her Reddit AMA.

“I don’t think that Arya’s after the throne. I don’t think that’s her honest direction. I don’t think that that’s what she’s been fighting for this whole time. I see the perfect ending for her to be revenge and then happiness.”

That answer makes sense. The youngest Stark girl has never had any grand designs toward the Iron Throne. She just wants revenge.

FatC next asked Maisie about what it meant to be a part of a show like Game of Thrones.

“With this show, when you’re shooting, you think you’re a big part of it and then you watch it on screen and you realize there’s this whole other world going on all around.”

It’s always neat to see these types of responses from the Game of Thrones cast. For instance, Arya and The Hound were just a small part of a much larger Season 4, but as a viewer, when you’re watching the pair traveling around the ruined Riverlands, it’s easy to forget that there’s a completely different story going on in Essos, with Daenerys. That’s how good the story-telling has been on Game of Thrones.

Maisie also talked about watching the show, as a fan.

“It feels like you can watch it as a fan as well. There’s so many other aspects to the show that I’m not a part of, I can really sit down and enjoy that. Which story line I enjoy most changes all the time. I think story lines pick up and then they die down again. At the moment I’m loving Sansa’s, it’s really interesting and this season is going to be great for her.”

Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams are close friends, so it would make sense that Maisie would take an interest in her friend’s story. I actually am very excited for Sansa’s story in Season 5, as well…which is a completely different take on how I enjoy Game of Thrones, now. If you had asked me in Season 3 if I enjoyed Sansa’s storyline, I would have answered with a resounding NO. Sansa was a bumbling idiot, compared to her younger sister, and I blamed her for all of House Stark’s woes. But now, with her returning to Winterfell in Season 5, and with her emergence as “Dark Sansa” under Little Finger’s tutelage, I am completely keyed in on her arc.

Maisie also talked about filming the first season, and how the cast was close, especially her, Isaac Hempstead Wright, and Sophie Turner. She talks, in-depth, about how those three in particular supported each other, when they first started. Now, they really only get to interact while doing press for the show.

When FatC asked Maisie whether she related more to Arya and Sansa, Maisie’s answer was rather what we have come to expect from the lively actress.

“Personally, I’d be more like Arya. But I think everybody is a bit of both. I love to dress up, I love to wear beautiful clothes, but I also love to climb trees, mess around with my brothers and throw a fight. A bit of danger as well. But that’s the wonderful thing, as the world is changing, it is okay to be what you want and it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female. It’s becoming a lot easier to break out of the shell and do whatever the hell you want”

The actress is also not worried about being type-cast as Arya in every project she auditions for. Her gratitude for the opportunity to play an ever-evolving character on a long-running show like Game of Thrones is refreshing.

You can watch Maisie’s interview in its entirety below.

• Published on 04/03/2015 at 2:00 PM CDT
• Last updated on 04/06/2015 at 5:31 PM CDT