In season 1 of Game of Thrones, Arya Stark is described as being like a sword. In the context of the character, it’s proven to be an apt description. Over seven seasons, revenge, retribution and bloodshed have all become hallmark attributes of Stark’s evolution from innocent waif to a cunning, strong young woman. For the 20-year-old actress who has effortlessly inhabited the role, Maisie Williams, the metaphor is equally accurate. Williams arrives in Boston by herself—unsheathed—cutting through the red tape of publicists, managers, and agents as she readies herself to be transformed in garments ranging from a Maria ke Fisherman leather corset top to a Zadig & Voltaire sweater which appropriately reads “muse.” She’s in town shooting X-Men: New Mutants where she has been cast in the role of Wolfsbane– a transformative Scottish entity with a furry alter-ego—who will battle evil alongside a diverse set of other teens. She’s sort of like a Stark who becomes her own dire wolf, so it seems like a natural transition for Williams as far as tent-pole franchises go. It also furthers her pursuit to portray female characters that aren’t cliché and defy conventional attitudes about femininity and beauty. “It’s nice to be a part of this sort of new wave of characters being written and actresses coming into fame that don’t really stick to the norm,” she says. “I believe that my generation is one of the most accepting generations that there is, and I sort of see that reflected in film.” Most young actors and actresses toil in commercial work and graduate to embarrassing cameos on short-lived TV series or score bit parts in low budget films before making the jump to more substantial work. However, when Game of Thrones creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff scoured 300 female actresses across England for their vision of Arya Stark, they plucked Williams from absolute obscurity in her hometown of Bristol. The youngest of four children, Williams was raised by her mother and stepfather who encouraged her first passion: dance. The discipline lends itself to the strict rule of choreography where a single step doesn’t happen by chance. But when Williams was 11, she and her company found themselves exploring how improvisation classes could aid in their overall imagination as dancers. It was there where talent agent, Louise Johnston, became impressed by Williams’s charm and encouraged her to consider trading in her ballet slippers for acting. With Johnston serving as her first agent, Williams auditioned for a part in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang—the sequel to the 2005 film starring Emma Thompson—but she ultimately missed out landing the gig because she looked too young. Johnston could sense that Williams was already frustrated. Yet, she and Maisie’s mother still sold her on the aforementioned HBO series which would potentially allow her to portray a tomboyish character enamored by her brother’s exploits in battle.
T-SHIRT 6397
BLAZER & PANTS HUGO BOSS
EYEGLASSES RETROSUPERFUTURE
CHOKER & EARRINGS EDDIE BORGO RINGS COACH & EDDIE BORGO
The only problem: the audition interfered with a class trip to a local pig farm, which was particularly appealing to Williams because she absolutely adored animals, aided by a Noah’s Ark-esque upbringing which included 13 dogs, rabbits, chinchillas, guinea pigs, birds, and a hedgehog. Fortunately for Williams, her mother persuaded her to pursue the opportunity.