Sophie Turner has spoken candidly about filming the controversial rape scene her character Sansa Stark endured in Game of Thrones, which aired during the show’s fifth season when she was just 19.
The distressing episode, which featured Turner opposite actor Iwan Rheon, sparked global backlash in 2015 for its depiction of sexual violence.
Now, nearly a decade later, the 29-year-old actress has explained why she believes the storyline played a vital role in sparking dialogue.
‘I did feel — and still do — that Game of Thrones shone a light on things that many people were like, ‘Oh god, you can’t show that kind of thing’ — and I understand it can be triggering, I totally understand that point of view,’ she told Flaunt Magazine. ‘But I did feel we were actually doing a lot of justice to women and the fight women have had to fight for hundreds of thousands of years.’
The mom-of-two reflected on how women have long endured ‘the patriarchy, being treated as objects and being constantly sexually assaulted.’
She added, ‘I don’t think there’s one woman I know who hasn’t had a form of that.’
Sophie Turner has spoken candidly about filming the controversial rape scene her character Sansa Stark endured in Game of Thrones; seen in March 2023
Turner admitted it can be disheartening when men dismiss these experiences or don’t believe them.
‘That’s because we don’t [talk about] it enough — we shy away from it,’ she said disapprovingly.
Looking back, she acknowledged that standards have shifted since the show aired.
‘I think if Game of Thrones came out today, we’d definitely put some trigger warnings on there,’ she said. ‘But I’m really proud to have been a part of Game of Thrones where they didn’t shy away from showing atrocities that happened to women back then. I feel proud to have been part of the conversation.’
Her co-star Iwan Rheon, 40, has also spoken about the difficulties of shooting the scene, in which his character, Ramsay Bolton rapes Sansa on their wedding night.
‘That was horrible,’ he told Metro in 2020. ‘Nobody wanted to be there. Nobody wants to do that, but if it’s telling a story then you have to tell it truthfully. They didn’t sensationalize it or anything. It was very, very hard watching. It’s a horrible thing that happens, unfortunately.’
Rheon said the day of filming was ‘the worst day’ of his career.
‘Chopping someone’s finger off, you don’t really see it, and when you’re doing like a close up, it’s a piece of plastic. We’re just acting, it’s not real. Then something like that where you’re in the actual reality of the situation is very difficult to deal with. It was a horrible, horrible day. This is something that we shouldn’t even have to worry about, because it’s something that shouldn’t exist in this world, but unfortunately it does.’
The distressing episode, which featured Turner opposite actor Iwan Rheon, sparked global backlash in 2015 for its depiction of sexual violence (seen in 2015)
Now, nearly a decade later, the 29-year-old actress has explained why she believes the storyline played a vital role in sparking dialogue
While Game of Thrones was on air from 2011 to 2019, the show sparked backlash over the ‘exploitative’ and ‘unnecessary’ depictions of sexual violence and abuse against women.
The scene is one of the most widely criticized scenes in the series and led some fans to boycott the long-running fantasy drama.
At the time, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill declared she was done with the show after watching the ‘gratuitous rape scene.’
Turner, who became a Patron for Women for Women International, previously tied her work on Game of Thrones to her advocacy for survivors of sexual violence.
Turner first auditioned for the role of Sansa Stark at the age of 12 and began filming aged 14, with the show’s eighth season finishing when she was 23
Back in 2015, she penned an essay reflecting on the public outrage over the storyline.
‘I wondered why people feel so impassioned to speak out about a fictional rape when this happens all over the world every day,’ she wrote. ‘In a time where it seems a lot of focus is being placed upon domestic issues and concerns, it’s important that we draw some attention to the people who aren’t able to publicize the horrors that are occurring or have occurred in their own countries.’
She went on to recall traveling to Rwanda, meeting those affected by violence and how the women there deeply ‘inspired’ her in ‘so many ways.’
‘Ultimately, I hope to help [Women for Women International] build their network and raise much-needed funds to help more women survivors of war,’ Turner said.
Turner first auditioned for the role of Sansa Stark at the age of 12 and began filming aged 14, with the show’s eighth season finishing when she was 23.
