[BOOKS SPOILERS] Maisie Williams (Arya) fan-thread

[Arya The Assassin]

Maisie Williams is one of the most popular actors in GoT, so I figured that it would be practical to have a separate thread devoted to her, where people can discuss Maisie's portrayal as Arya, and post background information, links to interviews and other tidbits of information.

Maisie has received a lot of praise for her portrayal of Arya, and it's particularly impressive given the fact that this is her first TV show (and probably first professional acting experience, although she's been in schoolplays). But sometimes filmmakers prefer 'fresh' actors, with limited or lacking experience, because 'trained' child actors might come off as too 'trained', and they don't have to 'unlearn' a lot of 'unwanted' habits.

General links:

Maisie Williams - IMDb

Fansites:

There's an unofficial fansite, although it looks rather spartan and the moment:

http://maisiewilliams.com/

Social networking sites:

Maisie has a twitter account, which I believe is genuine, but she hasn't been very active lately:

http://twitter.com/#!/Maisie_Arya

I don't know the address of her Facebook-account, though (I'm not even sure if she has an official FB-account).

Videos:

Interviews on YouTube:

Miscellaneous:

Maisie Williams Dances in School Show

Interviews:

I found this interview on Winter-Is-Coming.net:

Interview with Maisie Williams

She sounds like a bright kid and she seems to have a good understanding of her character.

A few quotes:

I had three auditions in total. The first audition was in London at the end of June, it was very quick, recorded on video with lots of others all auditioning for Arya, Sansa or Bran. I was thrilled when after a few days I got a call back. The second audition was much longer, I had to do the same scene (a Kingsroad scene not used in the actual series) about 5 times with three different girls auditioning for Sansa. One of whom was Sophie Turner!!!

[Arya] is feisty, a bit of a rebel, a tomboy, she is also quite brave and quick thinking, she wants to be listened too but sees everything very black and white … bit like me really!

I am looking forward to being with the Hound … I like Rory, and really want to work with him. I'm also looking forward to the Weasel soup! Harrenhal, going on the run, receiving the coin … all of it really!

EDIT: Added dance video

[Lord Varys]

She is really remarkable, fighting with the left hand although she herself is actually right-handed, biting her lip in the Arya fashion (in the scene with Ned in her room in KL), and she is really sympathetic and likable. You really care for her, and hope things turn out well for her ;-).

That makes her better, I think, in certain ways than the book Arya, as I did often not want to follow her story due to the fact that she is not really important to the overall story. But I'm pretty sure Arya is going to become an important character in the later seasons of this series, especially due to the stuff she has to go through.

[Slick Mongoose]

I always look forward to the Arya book chapters and I always look forward to the Arya scenes in the show. Maisie is doing a fantastic job.

[Thefalconemperor]

Her fist lessons with Syrio were awesome. Looking forward to see how Maisie will handle all the suffering Arya is going to endure.

[valacirca]

Count me in.

Best actor and character portrayal in the show so far!

[Jaxtile]

She's so great! I have a big stupid grin on my face whenever she's on screen.

[Kalbear]

She has done what no other actor in the series has for me - she has replaced my mental image of Arya. Just an absolutely superb job of taking the role into her own and making me really believe it. Phenomenal.

What's even better is that I had worried they would cut later Arya stuff from the show because it didn't fit so well and was a bit disconnected, but with her popularity and the popularity of her story I don't think that'll happen.

[SergioCQH]

Calling her the best actor so far in the series is a bit much. I won't argue that she is not quite extraordinary, but her character is an archetype generally very popular with audiences. I think Sophie Turner has done just as good a job as Maisie, but Sansa isn't quite as sympathetic a character as Arya.

The best actor so far is Sean Bean. Period.

[Seerow]

Calling her the best actor so far in the series is a bit much. I won't argue that she is not quite extraordinary, but her character is an archetype generally very popular with audiences. I think Sophie Turner has done just as good a job as Maisie, but Sansa isn't quite as sympathetic a character as Arya.

I dunno, Sophie Turner in a few scenes seemed really off. Particularly the scene where she was pleading with Cat to let her marry Joff, someone else described it best as "A 13 year old played by a 15 year old acting like a 8 year old"

[SergioCQH]

I dunno, Sophie Turner in a few scenes seemed really off. Particularly the scene where she was pleading with Cat to let her marry Joff, someone else described it best as "A 13 year old played by a 15 year old acting like a 8 year old"

In theory, the characters have been aged up, but the Sansa in the show is the exact same character as the Sansa in the book, who is 11.

Maisie has her off moments too. A particularly bad one was in Episode 3 when she starts listing the people she hates to Ned. A poor musical cue doesn't help her, but it was delivered far too earnestly and with not enough spite.

[Fighter]

She's exactly how I imagined Arya. Many of the other characters are as well. Great casting.

[Seerow]

In theory, the characters have been aged up, but the Sansa in the show is the exact same character as the Sansa in the book, who is 11.

Uh... when Cercei asks her how old she is in the first episode, she answers with 13. Unless Sansa is stupid enough to forget how old she actually is, which I wouldn't put past her, but I doubt that was the intention.

Maisie has her off moments too. A particularly bad one was in Episode 3 when she starts listing the people she hates to Ned. A poor musical cue doesn't help her, but it was delivered far too earnestly and with not enough spite.

Maybe, but it wasn't as jarring as the scene I mentioned. It may be as you have said and Arya is simply more likable, and the acting skill between the two is the same, but I can't see it.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

The best actor so far is Sean Bean. Period.

I agree with this. Bean's subtle ability to emote using facial expressions is remarkable.

Maisie is right up there, though, and she certainly inhabits her role as well as any of the adult actors. Remarkable work for someone of her age and limited experience.

[SergioCQH]

Uh... when Cercei asks her how old she is in the first episode, she answers with 13. Unless Sansa is stupid enough to forget how old she actually is, which I wouldn't put past her, but I doubt that was the intention.

OK, maybe I worded it poorly. Yes, the show Sansa is 13, but she is exactly the same in thought and behavior as the book Sansa, who is 11.

[Arya The Assassin]

I won't argue that she is not quite extraordinary, but her character is an archetype generally very popular with audiences.

My opinion of Maisie as Arya has nothing to do with archetypes or whether the character is sympathetic enough (I think Peter Dinklage is also doing a great job as Tyrion Lannister, even though he's not a very sympathetic character). It's her performance and appearance that appeals to me. She also seems to fit very well with my 'mental' image of Arya.

I think Sophie Turner has done just as good a job as Maisie, but Sansa isn't quite as sympathetic a character as Arya.

I do agree that Sophie Turner is also doing a good job performance-wise, but she doesn't get as much screentime and I find her character to be less interesting than Arya.

The best actor so far is Sean Bean. Period.

I think he's definitely one of the best actors in the series. But being a good actor doesn't necessarily translate into the most interesting character. I find Arya to be at least as interesting as Ned. Besides, Sean Bean has been a professional actor for many years, whereas Maisie is very young and has barely any professional acting experience prior to GoT. She seems very talented in my eyes.

Maisie has her off moments too. A particularly bad one was in Episode 3 when she starts listing the people she hates to Ned. A poor musical cue doesn't help her, but it was delivered far too earnestly and with not enough spite.

I disagree, I don't think it was bad at all. I actually see her earnesty as a positive quality in this scene (she doesn't try to hide her feelings or opinions), and her spite was evident in her facial expression as she mentioned Sansa. I don't think she sounded out-of-character either, since her character has a tendency to get a bit loud-mouthed when she's angry (as shown in the dinner table scene earlier in the episode, where she was 'practising' with her knife and complained loudly about the prince). I think child-actors have a tendency to not seem convincing enough when they try to portray anger (due to lack of intensity or emotional honesty), but I think Maisie does very well in this respect.

[Lord Varys]

Sophie really makes Sansa the spoiled kid she is, living very much in her own world. I actually liked her talk with Catelyn much in the first episode. She is naive and not very bright, and I really expected her to be like that. We also saw in the last episode that her parents are to blame as well for her being as she is. Ned has no clue at all what his daughter likes and dislikes, and he also does not care very much. He has no connection to her, so it's not a real surprise either, that happens what happens later on...

And she will get her screen time as well. Right now, there is no reason for the audience to like her very much, and I'm not sure how and when this might change. You really can think she might deserve being abused for betraying Ned. But I think her awakening to reality is going to make her a more sympathetic character.

But I'm sure we will see more of in the next two episodes, during the tourney, where she interacts with her two, ah, suitors, Littlefinger and the Hound. This should also help the audience to understand that Sansa is not just stupid, but a deep romantic at heart.

[L’Age d’or]

Arya became my favorite female character after I read her first chapter and I have to say I love Maisie Wiliams' interpretation of her, cant really see anything negative that puts me off. I just flinched a bit after seeing her being forced to swing the training sword with two hands, although the director made a good job hiding it by constant angel shifts and close shots of Syrio.

[Slick Mongoose]

I just flinched a bit after seeing her being forced to swing the training sword with two hands, although the director made a good job hiding it by constant angel shifts and close shots of Syrio.

What on earth are you talking about? Clearly she uses two hands regularly during the fight, it's not hidden. It's because she's not supposed to be very good.

[L’Age d’or]

What on earth are you talking about? Clearly she uses two hands regularly during the fight, it's not hidden. It's because she's not supposed to be very good.

Well Syrio clearly disapproves of her using two hands and actually pauses to correct her on two or three separate occasions.

[NW Deserter]

I really can't say enough good things about Maisie Williams' portrayal of Arya. She had tough shoes to fill with such a popular and interesting character, and so far it feels to me like there's not even an actress there, but a character that they somehow extracted from the pages. I'll be following her career from now on, wouldn't be surprised to see her get noticed by some casting directors for the film industry.

That said, her biggest tests are yet to come. We'll know for sure if she's truly up to the task of playing Arya after she kills the stable-boy.