Maisie Williams on childhood, life post–Game of Thrones — SkimNews
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- Maisie Williams stars in Practical Magic 2 as Antonia, the youngest daughter of Sandra Bullock's Sally Owens, in a sequel directed by Susanne Bier that sends Joey King's Kylie to England to break the family's curse.
- Williams, now 29, became famous at age 12 as Arya Stark on Game of Thrones, a role she credits with building resilience: "I wasn't knocked down by the industry when I did start auditioning."
- On a 2022 Diary of a CEO podcast, Williams disclosed a "traumatic relationship with my dad" and said she has "struggled sleeping" since childhood; at 8, a teacher noticed she wasn't eating breakfast.
- Williams was largely raised by her mother and aunt in Bristol and Somerset, and said she wishes she could tell her younger self "it's going to be fine" — her ambition, she said, came from wanting "my life to be different."
- Since Game of Thrones ended, Williams has appeared in Marvel's The New Mutants, Danny Boyle's Pistol, and Apple TV's The New Look, started her own production company, and co-hosts the Frank Film Club podcast.
- Williams said she had not heard about a reportedly in-development Arya Stark spin-off and would only return to the character if she were "developed in some way because I feel like I've changed so much."
- Williams described co-stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as "otherworldly" and recalled shrieking in her car with her dog after meeting them at the film's read-through.
Why it matters: Williams, 29, is reframing her post–GoT career around creative control — a production company, a podcast, and roles cherry-picked with a new agent — after child stardom and a difficult stretch in her 20s. The Practical Magic 2 casting signals a deliberate pivot toward lighter ensemble work alongside two veteran movie stars, with Williams herself now producing.
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