Game Of Thrones’ Maisie Williams Shares Some Heartbreaking Truths About Her Struggles With Fame And Mental Health

‘I still lie in bed at, like, 11 o’clock at night telling myself all the things I hate about myself’

maisie williams mental health

by Bonnie McLaren |
Updated on

Maisie Williams has been heartbreakingly honest about her mental health, admitting that she doesn’t want to be in the spotlight anymore and that she often lists the things she hates about herself before she goes to sleep.

In a candid chat with Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, which was recorded live over the weekend, Maisie said, ‘I still lie in bed at, like, 11 o’clock at night telling myself all the things I hate about myself.’

The podcast began with the Game Of Thrones star admitting that she no longer wants to be famous, telling the presenter, ‘Honestly, I want a normal life.... I don’t want any of this crazy, crazy world because it’s not worth it.’

The 22-year-old then spoke about how she has struggled over the past year, saying, ‘In my own personal life, I think I just went through a lot of real revelations where I was like, “I’m not very happy doing this and pretending everything was fine.” I think there was a period of time where I was very sad, and then I came out of that, and now it’s just really terrifying that you’re ever going to slip back into it. That’s still something that I’m really working on, because I think that’s really hard. It’s really hard to feel sad and not feel completely defeated by it.’

READ MORE: All Of Game Of Thrones's Fit Men Who Were Killed At Some Point

Gallery

Game Of Thrones Dearly Departed Men - Grazia (stacked)

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CREDIT: Getty Images

Robb Stark

One of the shows greatest losses in both character and eye candy, Robb Stark – played by The Bodyguard's Richard Madden - was killed by Roose Bolton in season three. We're still mourning.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

Khal Drogo

One of the most emotionally conflicting deaths on Game of Thrones, Khal Drogo – portrayed by Jason Momoa - may have begun as one of our most hated characters, but his development in Daenerys true love left us hoping for a happy ending. Smothered by Daenerys to end his suffering, the eye candy Khal Drogo brought to our screens is something we still long for to this day.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

Oberyn Martell

Killed in battle with The Mountain, Oberyn's impeccable sense of style landed him in our hearts before swiftly taking him off our screens. Portrayed by Pedro Pascal, he still sports some unusual tastes for fashion in real life.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Jon Snow

The death that almost had us boycott the entire show, Jon Snow – portrayed by Kit Harrington - was killed by the black brothers before being resurrected in season six. Honestly, if we couldn't see Jon Snow on our screens every week we'd probably cancel our TV license and call it a day.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Dickon Tarly

Dickon – played by Tom Hopper - may have got what he deserved when he refused to bend the knee to Daenerys, whom has her dragon burn him alive in response, but as viewers we truly did not deserve to lose his excellence.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Eddark Stark

Nothing says fit like Lord Regent of the Seven Kingdoms. Played by Sean Bean, while Ned's title may have given him sex appeal, it also put him in the firing line for an untimely death. Executed by Ilyn Payne on the command of Joffrey Baratheon, Ned's heroism is still truly missed.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Trystane Martell

Trystane – played by Toby Sebastian - may have epitomized pretty boy, but his looks were taken from us abruptly in season five at the hands of Obara Sand.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Stannis Baratheon

Killed by Brienne of Tarth in season five, Stannis – played by Stephen Dillane- won us over with his steeley looks and silver beard.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Hizdahr Zo Loraq

The sons of Harpy continued to take away our most beautiful characters for the whole of season 5, with Hizdahr – played by Joel Fry - taken far too soon.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Roose Bolton

Lost at the start of season six, Roose – played by Michael McElhatton -was killed by Ramsay Bolton. He may have raised an abhorrent excuse for a human – or TV character – but he can't be denied as one of GoT's fittest losses.

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CREDIT: Getty Images

Tywin Lannister

Played by Charles Dance, Tywin was the ultimate silver fox on GoT. That being said, his death was long-awaited - is there one male character on Game Of Thrones that you haven't wanted to die at one point? – and came at the hands of Tyrion Lannister.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Viserys Targaryen

Admittedly a welcome death for a truly horrific character, Viserys – played by Harry Lloyd - was killed by Khal Drogo in series one. The only thing we miss about him is the way his blonde mop of hair framed his chiseled cheekbones.

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CREDIT: IMDb

Renly Baratheon

While his role, and death, may be quite forgettable in the grand scheme of major deaths, Renly Baratheon's beard is one we will forever remember. While Gethin Anthony may not keep it as full in real life, at least we don't have to see the ridiculous crown he sported in character on the red carpet.

She added that she is now trying to be more ‘genuine’ and that this has had a positive impact on her mental health. She explained, ‘That wasn’t a public thing, but after going through that, now I’ve sort of tried to be a lot more genuine and it just becomes a lot more relaxing after that, I think. You just drop it all and that’s when you can really have fun.’

Maisie’s on-screen sister and best friend Sophie Turner recently spoke about the pair's experiences with mental health, calling their friendship ‘destructive’ as they were going through the same thing.

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