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It’s always fascinating to watch young actors grow up before our eyes, especially when their talent makes such a lasting impression. Maisie Williams, who we first met as the fearless Arya Stark inGame of Thrones, is one of those rare examples.
From her debut in 2011, she had us hooked with her performance, showing a raw, undeniable talent that only grew stronger as the years went by. Her work did not go unnoticed, as she received two prestigious Emmy Award nominations for portraying the iconicGame of Thronescharacter.
However, Arya’s journey wasn’t without its bumps along the way. The intimacy scene in the final season involving Arya and Gendry, played by Joe Dempsie, caught many off guard.
Dempsie later opened up about the discomfort he felt while filming the scene. The actor admitted that watching Maisie grow up on screen made it tough to approach such an intimate moment.
Game of Thrones: Joe Dempsie reflected on filming with Maisie Williams
When it comes to iconic TV moments,Game of Throneshas delivered some of the most talked-about scenes in recent memory. Yet, not all of them were as easy to film as they appeared on screen. Joe Dempsie, who portrayed Gendry, opened up about one of the most controversial moments in the show’s final season.
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While many fans were left speechless by Arya’s (played by Maisie Williams) sudden proposition to Gendry in the Battle of Winterfell’s tense lead-up, Dempsie confessed that it was a tricky moment for him. The reason? He had watched Maisie grow up from the very beginning of the show.
“It was an odd transition purely because I’d seen Maisie grow up”,he confessed toThe Independent. Having met her as a child, the idea of filming such an intimate scene with her felt“uncomfortable”.
It wasn’t simply about playing the role of Gendry in a scripted moment—it was the reality of working with someone he had watched mature over the years. Dempsie explained:
I know we were recreating fantasy, but we as actors have to make it very much in reality, and they were asking me to comment on whether I – at the time, a 25-year-old man – would like my character to hook up with a 14-year-old.
Speaking withEW, Dempsie acknowledged that it felt“slightly strange” for him because he had known Williams since she was a young girl:
It’s obviously slightly strange for me because I’ve known Maisie since she was 11, 12 years old.
Despite the unease, Dempsie never let his discomfort get in the way of his professionalism. When it came time to film the scene, he put his personal feelings aside.“I don’t want to be patronizing toward Maisie—she’s a 20-year-old woman”,he added.
At the time, the idea of portraying such a relationship seemed out of place, even though it was rooted in the fantastical world ofGame of Thrones.
What did Maisie Williams think of Arya’s controversial scene?
The scene sparked a wave of differing opinions among viewers. Some considered it a poignant “coming-of-age” moment for Arya, while others found it deeply uncomfortable (viaThe Sun). But it wasn’t just the fans who were stunned; the scene left both actors in a state of disbelief.
ForMaisie Williams, the situation was equally strange. When she first read the script, she thought it was a practical joke.“At first, I thought it was a prank”, she confessed (in the same interview with EW). It wasn’t until later, during a read-through, that the reality set in.
I got to the read-through and I’m reading the scene and thought, ‘Oh, we’re actually going to do this.’
Despite the initial shock, Williams, who mightnot be returning as AryaStark in theJon Snowspin-off, took the news in stride. The showrunners, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, reassured her that she could choose how much to reveal. The actress stated:
David and Dan were like: ‘you may show as much or as little as you want’. So I kept myself pretty private. I don’t think it’s important for Arya to flash. This beat isn’t really about that.
And for Williams, it was crucial that Arya remained true to herself.
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“Everybody else has already done it on the show,”she added, showing her respect for the way Arya’s storyline had evolved. The scene wasn’t just a physical encounter; it was a deeper look into Arya’s evolution as a character and the choices she made in q face of potential death. And, as always, it was another unforgettable moment in theGame of Thronesuniverse.
Game of Thronesis available on Max.
Siddhika Prajapati
Senior Journalist & Content Head
Articles Published :3310
With over 3,300 articles carved into the digital walls of FandomWire, Siddhika Prajapati excels at creating, curating, and elevating engaging stories. She takes pride in giving these stories a home and, of course, she’s got a Google Knowledge Panel to prove it!Whether it’s reviewing the latest drop on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV+, or analyzing the cultural echoes of a streaming hit on Paramount+ or Max, Siddhika is always writing three steps ahead of the discourse.
