Sophie Turner says she had a hard time filming heavy, violent Game of Thrones scenes at a young age

Sophie Turner, who is currently expecting her second child with husband Joe Jonas, reflected on her career and early Game of Thrones (GoT) success in a recent interview. She said the subject matter of GoT was so heavy, it took a toll on her mental health. Read more: When Sophie Turner agreed that Game of Thrones co-star Kit Harington deserved heftier salary than her

Sophie portrayed Sansa Stark in the hit HBO show, and was 15, when it first premiered. She is one of the few cast members to appear in all eight seasons. Now 26, Sophie Turner is realising the potential effects from filming the violent series.

Talking to actor Jessica Chastain in an interview for The Cut, Sophie said, “the subject matter was so heavy” that she developed a coping mechanism of just having the most fun in between takes, so she wouldn’t get traumatised.

“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. And the first few years, I had my mom with me because she was chaperoning me, so she would be very helpful and give me snacks,” Sophie said.

After a whirlwind start, Sophie is taking some time to be with her growing family. “When Game of Thrones ended, I started developing, like, a personal life and then finally a taste for what I actually wanted to do in my work and things like that,” she said. “I feel like I’m only on the beginning of my journey of evolving into a person I probably should have evolved into about ten years ago.”

Sophie Turner is currently starring in the miniseries, The Staircase, based on the true-crime documentary of the same name. She portrays Margaret Ratliff, and stars alongside Colin Firth and Toni Collette.