Sophie Turner has voiced concerns over the impact of social media on young performers. The 29-year-old actress, who was just 13 when she was cast in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, said she worries about children thrust into the spotlight due to the often cruel nature of online platforms. Speaking to Flaunt magazine, she said: “I look at the kids who are about to be in the new Harry Potter and I just want to give them a hug and say, ‘Look, it’s going to be okay but don’t go anywhere near social media.’ Stay friends with your home friends, keep living at home with your family, make sure your parents are your chaperones – it’s so important to have that grounding adjacent to the big, crazy stuff that you do.”
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Turner reflected on how her own confidence suffered as social media grew in prominence after Game of Thrones began airing in 2011. “I think social media was just really becoming a big thing after I started on Game of Thrones, so I got a couple of years of peace and quiet and then I had to adjust. It had such a profound impact on my mental health, like more than I could tell you. It almost destroyed me on numerous occasions,” she admitted.
The Trust star also confirmed that she does not plan to let her daughters, Willa, five, and Delphine, three, from her marriage to former husband Joe Jonas, enter acting until they are older. “Oh God, they’re not acting! Not until they’re at least 25!” Turner stated, emphasising the importance of a grounded childhood before entering the entertainment industry.
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Turner appears alongside her former Game of Thrones co-star Kit Harington in the upcoming film The Dreadful. She said she aims to choose projects that spark discussion and inspire audiences. “I do like to make things that people can walk away from and they feel able to change something about themselves or feel inspired to do something. I want to do more unusual stories – I want to do more A24-type projects where they’re super unique and very niche,” she explained. Discussing her on-screen chemistry with Harington, she added: “We suddenly went, ‘Oh s***! Why have we committed to playing a couple?’ It was really weird. As ever, he’s the biggest, most uplifting big brother I could ask for, bar my own two real-life brothers.”
