Maisie Williams' Dedication To The Game Of Thrones Books Made Her Job A Lot Harder
"Game of Thrones" has been off the air for several years now, and the prequel series "House of the Dragon" has taken over the world that author George R.R. Martin created in his novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire." While the controversial finale of "Game of Thrones" soured a lot of fans (including myself) on the show, all you have to do is think about Maisie Williams' portrayal of Arya Stark to remember why we loved it in the first place. Getting to watch a young girl who always knew she didn't want to be like everyone else grow, change, get more powerful, and set off on a massive sea adventure at the end was a wonderful thing, and something I wish there was more of on television.
While there were many things that didn't translate well from the books, Arya's character absolutely did. Perhaps you, like me, said after the first episode, "Oh, now that is perfect casting." As it turns out, Williams wasn't just a good actress and perfect for the role, but she was also a stickler for being true to the character Martin created. One of the ways she proved her dedication was by making her fight scenes much harder on herself than they could have been.
'We heard about all the people on the Internet wanting the show to be like the books'
In the book "Inside HBO's Game of Thrones," which was written by "Thrones" writer/producer Bryan Cogman, Williams told the story of a major choice she made when she got the part of Arya Stark. As she explained:
"I found the sword fighting difficult because of the left-handed business. I'd just got the part, and I remember my mum was out in the garden reading the book. She says, 'By the way, Arya's left-handed.' And I said, 'Oh, that's going to be hard' [Maisie is right-handed]. And she said, 'Well, I don't think they'll make you do it left-handed.' And I said, 'But it'd be cool if I did.'
We heard about all the people on the Internet wanting the show to be like the books, so I thought I would try it and see how it goes. Learning the routines was a lot like learning a piece of choreography, it's just that you have a sword in your hand."
Have you ever tried to write with your non-dominant hand? Draw a picture? It rarely ends well. Imagine trying to sword fight in scenes with the choreography that Williams had over the eight seasons of the show. My hat is off to her, and I'll use my non-dominant hand for a salute.
"Game of Thrones" is currently streaming on Max.