Maisie Williams on Breaking Free from Arya Stark’s Shadow

Maisie Williams, renowned for her role as Arya Stark in HBO’s Game of Thrones, has faced significant challenges in redefining her career post-fame.

Despite the immense popularity and acclaim that came with her portrayal of Arya, Williams struggled to distance herself from the character and establish her own identity in the entertainment industry.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times (as reported by Business Insider), the star actress Maisie Williams shared her ongoing struggle to shed the persona of the scrappy, tomboyish Arya.

“I was so lost for so long, and I knew that I was, and when I couldn’t pin down what I felt my identity was within that, it brought me a lot of discomfort,” she said.

Shaking off the Stark persona: A quest for new roles

The role, which she began at the age of twelve, not only defined her early career but also complicated her path to new roles.

Williams acknowledged that her early success created a double-edged sword. The fame and recognition that Arya Stark brought her also led to being typecast, making it challenging to land diverse roles.

“I’ve found it really hard to land roles that are in a world like ‘The New Look’ because of the Arya Stark character,” she admitted.

Her breakthrough came with Todd A. Kessler’s biographical drama The New Look, where she plays Catherine Dior, the younger sister of fashion icon Christian Dior.

She noted that Kessler had never seen her previous work, which allowed him to cast her based solely on her current abilities and persona rather than her past role.

“Todd had never seen a single episode [of Game of Thrones], so he just got to meet me as a 24-year-old woman and see a character like Catherine within me,” she said.

Aside from acting, Williams is also involved in a tech start-up she co-owns with Dom Santry. She remains active in pursuing new projects and auditions, with The New Look being a significant step in her efforts to diversify her acting career.