The Stark sisters in the play have become girlfriends who encourage and support each other in life. Photo: Entertainment Weekly
Maisie Williams' first day on the crew of Game of Thrones.
If it weren't for Game of Thrones, the vast majority of people in the world would probably never have heard of the name "Maisie Williams" for the rest of their lives, just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family, deserting in the classroom, dreaming unrealistic dreams. But because of such a series that has swept the world and become a pop culture benchmark, the names Maisie Williams and Arya Stark are forever tied together.
"Arya is lively, a little rebellious, a tomboy, and at the same time she is very brave and quick-witted, and she longs for her voice to be heard, to see the world black and white... It's really a bit like me!" Arya came back to life because of Maisie, and Maisie completely subverted the trajectory of her life because of Arya, and ten years later, the two are no longer separated.
Maisie is reluctant to Arya, but life always has to go on, and people always have to grow. Debut is the peak of a 22-year-old girl is like a double-edged sword, once trapped by this role, there may never be a day to turn over in this life. So she began to think like Arya, learning to use the resources at hand, to open a company to build third-party applications, to challenge the current rules of the film and television industry, to encourage Gen Z of the same age to show their talents, rather than obsessed with materialism. Therefore, whether Maisie can succeed in the future and play a representative role beyond Arya, she has put a new label on herself - "young entrepreneur".
The third episode of the eighth season set a record for the highest apology
Before filming of the eighth season of Game of Thrones began, Maisie Williams received a phone call. "I can't reveal anything, but it's time for you to exercise, we're going to shoot night scenes for three months." On the phone, the crew simply and clearly ordered the preparatory task, and Maisie was leisurely nibbling on fries in Boston, casually agreeing "okay, no problem". Later, she became the strongest player in the battle of the ghosts and heroines, and the hand blade of the ghost commander "Night King" won the MVP.
In this battle to decide the fate of the living, we see Arya Stark using what she has learned all her life. In fact, the actress Maisie is a right-handed, but in order to restore the left-handed setting of the character, she began to practice her left-handed sword with Arya from the age of 12. In the ghost war, Arya holds a spear with a double-headed blade, which can be disassembled in the middle and can be transformed into two sharp swords, which is a weapon specially designed for Maisie by the martial arts instructor, and after doing all the training carefully, she also successfully completed most of the martial arts shots. Although there are some small episodes in it, this girl fights with the ghost head-to-head, and from time to time on the set. "Practicing playing is one thing, the feeling of fighting a scary zombie on the spot is another thing, and in the third episode I probably set a record for the highest number of apologies on set."
Arya Stark is destined to be special. "Game of Thrones" and its original "A Song of Ice and Fire" are somewhat similar to the alternate history of Europe, in which the women in the story often appear as weak and in need of protection, such as Sansa, or as seductive and mysteriously powerful, such as the red-robed woman Mellie Sandra, which reflects the most common female labels in the patriarchal perspective - "weak" and "other" (that is, the second sex that exists different from the male standard and affects the fate of men in some form); but Arya is different, She is obviously an aristocratic lady but grew into a top assassin at a time of upheaval, she obviously has strength, wisdom and courage but has no interest in the highest power, she clearly vows to live only for revenge but chooses righteousness in times of crisis, and because of this, Arya is regarded as a representative of non-traditional female characters and has become one of the objects of many film and television studies.
There is a passage circulating that the wife of George Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, once threatened her husband, who was good at writing the favorite characters of dead readers: "If you dare to write arya and Sansa, I will divorce you." ”
Sisters in the play, harvest partner-level girlfriends outside the play
It is no exaggeration to say that in order to portray such a unique girl in the history of the TV series, Maisie has gambled on her career. This was her first role in her life, and she acted for ten years. "I've poured everything into Arya, so it's even harder to play a new role now, and every time I enter arya," it makes it harder for me to play a new role because it's hard for me to play so well again, and it's hard to create such a strong and cool role for her again." I'm one hundred percent going to miss her. I couldn't help but cry at the thought of it was over. ”
In this crew, Maisie not only has a masterpiece of life, but also establishes a lifelong friendship with "Sansa" Sophie Turner - a girlfriend at the level of soul mate. Sophie once recalled the beginning of their friendship in a talk show: "The first time we met was during the audition, the chemistry was very strong, and after that segment we became good friends!" I am most proud that from the first time I met Maisie, from the age of 12 to 22, we have experienced many ups and downs in our lives together, and I have witnessed her grow into a good and powerful woman. ”
It is also because the two are so familiar that when Sansa and Arya finally reunite after their respective tribulations, the two actors suddenly drop professionally. Maisie smiled bitterly: "The reaction at that time was, Oh my God, Sophie is going to meet me who is acting!" So the two couldn't help but laugh... Over and over again.
Not only Sophie, "Game of Thrones" gathered a large number of excellent actors and crew from all over the world, and many actors said that the most enjoyable thing about the season eight premiere was to reunite with everyone. Maisie deeply understands that it is this united family that has won 130 Emmy nominations for this show, setting a world record. "This play is unique, to meet them, to be able to work with them, is the luckiest thing in my life, and I truly believe that this play is destined to succeed." It's hard to find people who can work so closely together, where I can do whatever I want and concentrate on acting. I've had the privilege of playing the role of Arya in my life, and none of the scenes have made me bored, and now we're going to end it. ”
"Game of Thrones" ten years, when can the dream of dance come true
Maisie Williams is the youngest of four children, and her parents' marriage fell apart just 4 months after birth. Before becoming Arya, she was just a girl who grew up in an ordinary community, attended a normal school, and lived an ordinary life. "I was a freak at school, had some friends, and was never a popular pretty girl." But deep inside her, there was always an extraordinary dream, that is, to become a professional dancer.
"When I was a child, I would go to my mother's music player, turn up the volume, and swing my body with the music, when I was too young to even know what words to use to describe the state at that time, I only knew that there was a force flowing through my body, rushing through my arms and out of my fingers. In my consciousness, only myself was left in the whole world, but at this moment I felt so alive. ”
Such a moment made Maisie identify her own life trajectory, so she began to learn dance at the age of 8, and when she was 10 years old, she told her mother that she no longer wanted to study, wanted to go to a special dance school, and shattered her fate like the little male protagonist of "Jumping Out of My World". "Even when I was only 10 years old, I was willing to give up my school time frolicking with my friends, away from my relatives, even my mother, and go to private schools to pursue my dreams." My mother kept asking me, are you sure this is what you want? But for me, the decision didn't require any tangle at all. ”
Maisie failed to crush her fate, it was the social class that shattered her. Finally, one day, she waited for the acceptance letter of the dance school she had dreamed of, but found that the family could not pay the high tuition fees. "The next year I continued to take the exam and ended up getting 40 percent of the tuition fee, but the rest is still astronomical for our family." Her heart was broken, "Now it seems that the encounter at that time gave me a good opportunity to change direction, but at that time, if anyone dared to question my determination to pursue my dreams, I would definitely put up that ungraceful finger." ”
By chance, she was noticed by an acting agency. "I didn't know what that meant at the time, I just kind of knew that maybe with some auditions I would have a chance to be an actor. But my dream is to dance! I spend 30 hours a week dancing, are all these efforts in vain? Besides, what if I auditioned and wasn't selected? "Sure enough, she auditioned for her first time in 2009 and lost, and it was 'Magic Nanny McPhee 2' – just a typical dog-tailed sable work, and it wasn't worth the pity; followed by 'Game of Thrones.'" Before I started the audition, I was so nervous that nothing was wrong, but after I started, all the distractions disappeared. It reminds me of those times when I stood next to my mother's music player, immersed in my own world, letting this energy gush out of my mouth with the lines. ”
She took the role, and we all know and witness the story behind it. Ten years on, Maisie has grown from a half-tall girl to the strongest Stark sweeping the army of otherworldly ghosts, and as Game of Thrones comes to an end, Arya's character voice has reached its peak. But when she got home and put all the red carpet interviews behind her, Maisie just wanted to know, "When will I achieve my dream of being a dancer?" ”
People should be showing off their talents here, not luxury cars
In 2017, when Maisie was 20 years old and the seventh season of "Game of Thrones" aired, she and a friend were drinking beer in the kitchen and chatting, and suddenly decided to make a social media app for folk creators. A year later, Daisie came out, and Maisie transformed from what people called "never forget the North" Stark to the entertainment industry sector.
"I have a lot of friends around me who can't afford to go to art school, and they have spent many years practicing acting, but they can't even get in the door of show business." She used the money she earned from Game of Thrones to fund the startup with her friends, formed a small team of 6 people, and built an office in a friend's garden. Within 24 hours of the app's launch, it welcomed 30,000 registered users, presumably thanks to Arya Stark; within six months, their team expanded to 16 people, and patching bugs and updating versions became a top priority... In the two years of entrepreneurship, Maisie has learned a lot of lessons from angry users and terrible investors.
"There's a famous saying in this industry that the point is not on what you know, it's about who you know. But I want to give this power back to those who are really creating. I want people to show off their art here instead of luxury cars. We are in an age where anyone can be famous, and I want to encourage everyone to be talented, not just celebrities. Because talent is the core that drives you to fame. ”
Now 22-year-old Maisie Williams is still that baby face, and has also suffered online violence because her body shape does not conform to the mainstream aesthetic, but Arya and Sansa are also different, Maisie and Sophie Turner are also different - Sophie can't withstand the attacks of strangers and is depressed and is still receiving treatment; and Maisie wants to stand up and fight back, Daisie is her weapon.
"To me, the Game of Thrones crew is like a school. In school you learn equations and spelling, you learn math and physics, but when you leave school and enter society, you get to know yourself, you know all kinds of people, you learn how to communicate and communicate; I am very confident now, and this confidence is built by playing Arya, and I am really willing to pass on what I learned here to the people around me, as well as to the people who like my performance, and I also want people to feel the confidence that I have the privilege of feeling because of this play. ”
Written by/Dojo Arashi